A person of interest in connection to a pair of home invasions and sex assaults in South Philadelphia is currently in custody, according to police.
Raheem Felder surrendered to police Friday after a warrant had been issued for a parole violation, police said.
Sources close to the investigation confirmed that red gloves and sneakers matching the victims' description from the attacks were found during a search of Felder's mother's home along the 1300 block of South Chadwick Street Thursday.
Special Victims Unit investigators along with US Marshals could be seen taking items from that home around 5 p.m Thursday. The home isn't far from one of two home invasions and sex assaults that have put the neighborhood on alert.
Police confirmed the investigators were searching for clues for a man wanted not only in an attack about four blocks away on Chadwick Street but also nearby Rosewood Street.
Roberta Felder, who owns the home where police searched, asked for her son Raheem Felder, who police called a person of interest, to surrender to police. Friday afternoon police told NBC10 a warrant had been issued for Felder's arrest but only for a parole violation, not for the sexual assaults. Raheem Felder later turned himself in. He has not been charged with the sexual assaults and home invasions.
Court records show Felder was arrested in May, 2001 for robbing a man at an ATM and shooting him in the head when he tried to fight back. The victim survived the shooting.
A year later Felder was convicted of aggravated assault and attempted murder in connection to the shooting. He was sentenced to 8 1/2 to 17 years in prison to be followed by ten years of probation. Records show he was denied parole five times because of misconduct and negative recommendations from the Department of Corrections. In August, 2013 he was granted parole and released in November that same year. He remains on parole until 2018. Friday's warrant was issued after he allegedly violated his parole on a weapons charge.
The suspect in the home invasions and sex assaults stole a victim's car during an initial break-in then returned to sexually assault a resident along Rosewood Street, Philadelphia Police revealed.
Earlier Thursday, Lt. Anthony McFadden outlined a new timeline for the crime and unveiled new surveillance photos of the suspect.
McFadden said the investigation has revealed that the suspect may have entered the home along the 1800 block of South Rosewood Street Monday, taken items, including the resident's car keys, then left the home in the victim's car. McFadden said new information points to the suspect then returning to the home an hour later to confront the 35-year-old female resident, demand money and ultimately sexually assault her.
At the news conference, police announced the City of Philadelphia's Mayor's Office issued a $10,000 reward for the apprehension and conviction the wanted man.
"We hope that that reward will encourage people in the South Philadelphia community to assist us in identifying and apprehending this offender and ridding this neighborhood of this threat," said Philadelphia Police Captain John Darby.
On Wednesday, Police released surveillance video, which McFadden explained, was taken between the time that the suspect broke into the victim's home and returned to sexually assault her.
The video shows the suspect in the victim's hatchback. You see him park in front of a fire hydrant a few blocks from the victims home at 4:51 a.m. Monday. You then see the man – who appears to be in his 20s and stands between 6-feet and 6-feet, 2-inches tall who was wearing black pants, a black long-sleeved zip-up jacket and a hat – get out of the vehicle and appear to quickly look around before reaching back into the vehicle.
New still photos of the suspect were taken in the area as the suspect left the residence on foot the second time, McFadden said.
Someone may have tried to break into the same home where the assault occurred on Wednesday morning, sources with knowledge of the investigation said. Police have yet to say if that reported attempted burglary is connected to the earlier attack.
Police did, however, connect an earlier sex assault on a 35-year-old mother of two inside her South Philly home back in March to this case. During that incident on the 1700 block of S Chadwick Street the suspect was also wearing red gloves and choked the woman, police said.
"This individual is dangerous and he may be looking through the neighborhood and has the time to case the area and look for any weaknesses in the neighborhood in regards to security," said Philadelphia Police Capt. John Darby.
If you have any information on the incidents, please contact Philadelphia Police. If you spot him, police want you to call 911 immediately.
