A 29-year-old man arrested 3-years ago in Murfreesboro for allegedly raping another man at a party will head to trial next month on July 13th.
Investigative work by now retired MPD Detective Tommy Roberts showed that the victim had blacked out while drinking and smoking marijuana at a local party in 2019. When the victim awoke the following morning, he told police that he noticed some type of lubrication in the area of his groin.
A 2019 police report showed that friends of the 19-year-old victim told him that he was raped, evidently while he was passed out. Those so-called friends were able to name the man who they believed raped the victim, which led Detective Roberts to Austin Poteete, who was 26-years-old at the start of the investigation. A portion of the attack on the victim was reportedly captured on a Nest home security camera.
As the investigation into the rape continued, it was reveled that Poteete was accused of using hair gel as a form of lubrication on the victim.
After police investigated the case, evidence was sent to the TBI to be further examined for DNA evidence. Two months later, the evidence was presented to a May 2019 Grand Jury. The end result led to Poteete being indicted on 4-counts of rape and 2-counts of sexual battery.
The case will now head to Judge James Turner for trial on July 13, 2021. The suspect is being represented by attorney Ben Wetsell.
Poteete has been free on a $100,000 bond since May of 2019.
Since Poteete's initial arrest, the case has been rescheduled 9-times and continued 6-times.
Source:
MPD Incident 19-0005930
TCA 39-13-503 and TCA 39-13-505
Rutherford County Courts
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