According to police, a rider tried to sexually assault her shortly after she disembarked, and only her scrappiness prevented an awful situation from being even worse.
Look below for details and larger looks at the suspect in question.
At approximately 10:35 p.m. on January 8, according to the Denver Police Department (which won't face any accusations about delaying news about this incident, unlike the three knockout game-style attacks on New Year's Day), a woman stepped from an RTD bus near South Monaco and East Iliff.
That area is captured in the following interactive graphic; if you have any problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
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Shortly after the woman disembarked, a man threw her to the ground and took her cell phone and money.
But that wasn't all he wanted: Cops say he then tried to sexually assault her -- and he likely would have succeeded if she hadn't fought him off. In the end, he ran away.
The suspect is described as a tall, African-American male wearing a two-tone hat and sporting a tattoo on the side of his neck.
Was he on the bus with the woman just prior to going after her? That's the implication from two images of the suspect culled from RTD surveillance video. Here's the first....
...and the second: If you recognize this guy, or have any other information about the crime, you're encouraged to dial Crime Stoppers at 720-7867 (STOP). A reward of up to $2,000 is being offered in the case.Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Mile High Murder archive circa April 2013: "Isaiah Moreno arrested in fatal stabbing of Estevan Ruiz on RTD bus (70)."
