The second man accused in the brutal sexual assault of a jogger in Darien in 2003 is heading to court after Mexican authorities released him to face the charges.
The victim was running near Ring’s End Road in Darien around 7 a.m. on April 13, 2003, Palm Sunday, when two men stopped and forced her into their vehicle.
She tried to fight but one of the attackers smashed a bottle over her head to subdue her and forces her into the back of the vehicle, police said.
The men, later identified as Jose Amaya, 39, of East Hartford, and Alejandro Mendez, 23, of Norwalk, drove the woman to a secluded area in the Noroton section of town and sexually assaulted her, police said.
After holding her for a period of time, they tried to take her to an unknown location but she fought off the men, police said.
The woman was able to jump out of the vehicle and run to nearby St. Luke’s Church in Darien.
Initial leads indicated that Mendez had fled to Los Angeles shortly after the assault and that Amaya was heading to Mexico, where both men are originally from, police said.
Police found Mendez in Los Angeles, arrested him on June 11, 2003 and brought back to Connecticut. He was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and first-degree kidnapping and is serving a 15-year prison sentence.
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After the attack, authorities were not able to prevent Amaya from returning to Mexico, police said, Mexican authorities took Amaya into custody in December 2008.
Last week, Darien police learned that Mexican Authorities approved the extradition process and Amaya would be extradited to the United States. On April 14, members of the U.S. Marshalls Office and the Darien Police Detective Division took custody of Amaya in Mexico and he was then returned to Connecticut.
Amaya has been charged with three counts of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault. He is being held on $750,000 bond and will be arraigned in Stamford Superior Court on Wednesday.
