Friday, May 21--National DNA System Leads To Arrest In 2008 Rape Case

OCEAN CITY - Nearly two
years after offering a reward and asking the public's help in identifying the
suspect in a brutal rape case, Ocean City police detectives last week solved
the case with the help of a national DNA database, which identified a suspect
now serving time in a Florida prison.

The brutal attack and
rape occurred on Memorial Day weekend, more specifically May 24, 2008, around
2:30 a.m. in the area of 49^th Street. The unidentified suspect was
seen by witnesses in the 49^th Street area just prior to the attack
and rape and fled toward the beach after several citizens attempted to detain
him. The attack touched off a massive manhunt including helicopters and police dogs,
but the suspect eluded capture and remained at large for nearly two years until
the case was allegedly solved last week.

After continuously
pursuing leads to no avail, OCPD detectives learned last week the FBI
Laboratory's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) had positively matched DNA
recovered from the Ocean City rape victim in 2008 to a man convicted of
burglary in Fort Lauderdale. Soon thereafter, OCPD detectives traveled to
Florida to interview the suspect, identified as Lorenzo Ivan Garcia-Moreno, 23,
who is currently being held in a Florida state prison.

Last Wednesday, Ocean
City police formally charged Garcia-Moreno for the Memorial Day 2008 rape in
Ocean City. In addition to first- and second-degree rape, Garcia-Moreno is also
being charged with attempted first- and second-degree rape, first- and
second-degree assault, multiple sex offenses, kidnapping and reckless
endangerment.

Garcia-Moreno is
currently being held in Florida. Anyone with further information regarding the
attack is urged to contact the OCPD Criminal Investigation Division at
410-723-6604, or Det. Corp. Shawn Jones at 410-723-6661.