OAKLEY – A person who authorities say is the prime suspect within the kidnapping and rape of a lady greater than 20 years ago was arrested and remained in custody Tuesday in Contra Costa County, authorities said.
Two Oakley Police Detectives, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Police Department and the Kootenai County (Idaho) Sheriff's Office, arrested 49-year-old Eric Ferguson in Idaho on May 16, in accordance with a press release from the City of Oakley.
According to jail records, Ferguson was being held on the Martinez Detention Facility on Tuesday after failing to post $3 million bail.
The rape occurred in April 2002 near Laurel Road in Oakley. According to Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard, a young girl was walking her dog and was approached by a person who got out of a vehicle, pointed a gun at her, ordered her into the back seat of the vehicle, and compelled her at gunpoint to perform sexual acts on him.
Beard said the girl eventually fled and went to a close-by house to get help. Investigators collected DNA samples on the scene, Beard said, however the suspect couldn’t be found.
In 2022, Oakley Police received a match to the national Combined DNA Index System, a database of DNA profiles of convicted criminals, unsolved crimes and missing individuals, in addition to those arrested and incarcerated.
“I am truly impressed with all of the work that has gone into this case,” Beard said in a press release. “Everything from the foresight 22 years ago to collect DNA evidence to all of the cooperation and support we have received along the way has produced impressive results.”
Beard said the match identified a person who lives in Idaho. Authorities had executed a search warrant for the person's Idaho home on May 12, allowing them to take a DNA sample from him. An examination by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office lab found the DNA sample was a direct match to the sample taken after the 2002 sexual assault.
Four days later, the police made the arrest.
Ferguson's next court date is June 6.
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