(Woodland, CA) – June 2, 2022 – On May 31, 2022, 37-year-old Sacramento man, Jose T. Perez-Meza, was convicted of sexually assaulting two victims on separate occasions. A Yolo County jury convicted Perez-Meza of two counts of Assault With Intent To Commit Rape, Attempted Digital Penetration, Sexual Battery, Attempted Rape, Assault With Likelihood of Great Bodily Injury, Robbery, and Witness Dissuasion.
Over the course of the two-week trial, the jury heard evidence of two separate incidents, one in Santa Rosa and one in Davis. The jury heard evidence that in June 2018, 27-year-old “Jane Doe #1” left her apartment on crutches to go to her car. As she reached her car, Perez-Meza tackled her and then forced his hands into her underwear as she screamed and struggled. Perez-Meza attempted to penetrate her with his hands, but with other people a few car spaces over, he fled. Through use of surveillance footage Santa Rosa Police Department developed the profile of the person of interest but not the specific identity of the attacker. The crime went unsolved for two years.
On August 2, 2020, “Jane Doe #2”, a 23-year-old woman and recent UC Davis graduate, was taking a late evening walk on the Putah Creek Bike Path in Davis. As she was walking, she was grabbed from behind by Perez-Meza. The young woman was then violently strangled from behind by Perez-Meza. “Jane Doe #2” lost consciousness and awoke a short distance away on the path. Perez-Meza demanded that she give him her cellphone and told her not to scream or fight. Perez-Meza attempted to pry her legs apart and told her that he wanted to have sex with her. “Jane Doe #2” convinced Perez-Meza to stop. Perez-Meza then grabbed her hand and insisted that he walk her back to her apartment. Fearing being alone with Perez-Meza she asked that they go inside her apartment, there was a male roommate inside. “Jane Doe #2” gave him a glass of tea. Perez-Meza left his fingerprint and DNA on the glass.
Once the fingerprint was processed by the Department of Justice Latent Print Unit, the print came back through the FBI’s fingerprint system belonging to Perez-Meza. Davis Police Department executed a search warrant at Perez-Meza’s residence and found a jacket that matched the jacket captured in surveillance video from Santa Rosa. Through investigation by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations, Perez-Meza’s Google location data placed him within feet of the attack on “Jane Doe #1” in Santa Rosa.
Perez-Meza has a prior history of assaulting women. In 2015, he was convicted in Sacramento for misdemeanor sexual battery. In 2017, he was arrested and later convicted for misdemeanor sexual battery against another woman. In 2018, Perez-Meza was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. He has also been charged in Sacramento County for public masturbation, those charges are pending, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig said “I want to give Special thanks to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office for allowing us to take jurisdiction over the case to save “Jane Doe #1” from the trauma of testifying multiple times. Perez-Meza is a man who has preyed on multiple women over the last decade. He took what he wanted without any sign of remorse for his victims; his acts can only be categorized as heinous. Through the tremendous courage of the victims and the excellent law enforcement investigations by Santa Rosa PD, Davis PD, and our investigations bureau, justice was served.”
Perez-Meza faces up to 20 years in State Prison. He is scheduled for sentencing on July 15, 2022.
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