Third arrest made in rape, attempted murder of 89-year-old woman

PORT RICHEY -- The older brother of a teen who police say beat, raped and tried to smother an 89-year-old woman last week has been charged as a suspect in the attack, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said today.

Johnathan Rodriguez, 20, of 11230 Areca Drive, was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder and sexual battery, deputies said. His brother, Luis Reyes Jr., 14, and another suspect, Carlos Fernandez, 15, of 7151 Tudor Lane, face the same charges from Wednesday's early morning assault, as well as counts of burglary and grand theft auto from crimes committed April 2.

The Sheriff's Office says Fernandez, left, and Reyes, right, broke into the victim's home in the Palm Terrace Gardens neighborhood off U.S. 19. The victim told deputies the attackers wore masks, beat her in her bed, raped her and ransacked her house.

They fled when she kicked one of them in the "vital parts," according to a neighbor. She went to a house nearby for help and was taken to a hospital.

Investigators say the teens were returning to the scene of an earlier crime. The week before the woman was raped, her house was broken into while she slept, and the burglars stole a flashlight, some food and the woman's red Pontiac Sunfire, which was later recovered.

The Sheriff's Office says Reyes, Fernandez and a third boy, 16-year-old Sean Maus, are responsible for the April 2 burglary. Maus, of 11240 Snyder Ave. in Port Richey, is charged with grand theft auto and burglary. He is not accused of participating in Wednesday's attack. Rodriguez played no part in the April 2 burglary, deputies said.

All three suspects live within 2 miles of the victim.

Rodriquez has been transported to the Land O'Lakes Detention Center. Reyes and Fernandez remain in the Pasco County Juvenile Detention Center. Pasco Sheriff Bob White has recommended that the teens be charged as adults, but the final decision lies with prosecutors.

Molly Moorhead and Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writers

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