New Haven police have arrested a man who is accused of assaulting a jogger at gunpoint and trying to force her into the woods last October and said they have also identified him as a suspect in a 2018 sexual assault case.
At 6:16 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2023, police received a report that a man had approached a 38-year-old woman as she was jogging in the area of Yale Avenue and Edgewood Avenue, pulled a gun, tried to force her into a nearby wooded area and hit her in the face.
The victim was able to run and get home, police said. The suspect was believed to have run into Edgewood Park.
The victim was treated by American Medical Response personnel and K9 officers searched for the suspect but could not find them.
Special Victim’s Unit detectives also responded to the scene to speak with witnesses and conduct a canvass of the area.
Detective Samantha Romano was assigned to the case and secured an arrest warrant for 25-year-old Crisleonel Cruzado, of New Haven.
Police said they found him on Friday.
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He was taken into custody and has been charged with unlawful restraint in the first degree, assault in the second degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, and breach of peace in the second degree in connection with the 2023 case.
Police said Romano’s investigation also implicated Cruzado in a sexual assault case in December 2018 when a man with a knife assaulted a female in the area of Chapel Street and Yale Avenue and he has been charged with aggravated sexual assault in the first degree.
The cases were connected by DNA, according to police.
Cruzado is currently being held on two $250,000 bonds and will be arraigned on Oct. 15.
