FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Prosecutors filed a new first-degree felony case on Thursday against Rondel McDonald, who stands accused of raping a teenage girl after attempting to kidnap two others in Broward County.
Prosecutors had already filed a capital life case and a first-degree felony case against McDonald, 26, on Wednesday. Detectives reported he had confessed to the three crimes.
Court records show the two first-degree felony cases are related to the two brazen attempted kidnappings on the morning of Aug. 29 in Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
A 15-year-old girl told Local 10 News that McDonald followed her before 7 a.m., along Northwest 12 Court near Second Avenue, in Pompano Beach, and ordered her to get in the car.
“I didn’t want to get in the car so I was like, ‘No, thank you!’ And, he continued following me and pulled out a gun so I could see it,” she said.
A 17-year-old girl reported a gunman followed her and ordered her to get in his car shortly after 8:20 a.m., near Southwest Fifth Place and 16 Avenue, in Fort Lauderdale.
“She refused. The subject turned around, tried again, she refused again,” Fort Lauderdale Sgt. Hector Martinez said during a news conference Wednesday.
Records show the capital life case corresponds to a 15-year-old girl’s report that she was walking to a friend’s house on Tuesday when a gunman kidnapped her near Northwest Seventh Street and 14 Avenue.
“He drove her a short distance away to a secluded area, where he proceeded to sexually assault her,” Martinez said. “The victim was then allowed to leave the vehicle after he threatened her not to say anything.”
During the news conference with Martinez, Broward Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Yanessa Ayra praised the three teenage victims for their courage.
“Because they reported it, this prevented any future incidents,” Ayra said.
Detectives arrested McDonald on Tuesday. He wore handcuffs when he appeared before Broward County Circuit Judge Michele McCaul Ricca on Wednesday for a bond court hearing.
Court records show McDonald was at the main jail on Thursday facing a dozen charges.
Eight charges are part of a pending capital life case with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. The four first-degree felonies are two counts of sexual assault with a weapon, kidnapping with intent to inflict bodily harm, and false imprisonment of a child.
The other four charges in the case are second-degree felonies: Lewd or lascivious conduct, lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim 12 to 16 years old, use or display of a firearm during a felony, and use or allowing a child to engage in sex.
The first-degree felony case filed on Wednesday is for the use or display of a firearm during a felony, kidnapping, and criminal attempt solicitation or conspiracy to commit a life felony. The first-degree felony case filed on Thursday is for kidnapping.
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