MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD – Jose Roberto Hernandez-Penal, a 20-year-old resident of Hyattsville, has been taken into custody and charged by the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) with first-degree rape, kidnapping, and armed robbery. The incident occurred last Tuesday on the Northwest Branch Trail in the 10700 block of Columbia Pike in Silver Spring.
According to the police report, Hernandez-Penal approached two women on the trail around 2:40 p.m., brandished a machete, robbed them, and sexually assaulted one of the victims. He then fled the scene and assaulted an adult male in the 1100 block of Devere Drive. Hernandez-Penal was located and arrested with the aid of the Maryland State Police helicopter, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit, and the Maryland-National Capital Park Police.
Detectives are urging anyone who may have been assaulted by Hernandez-Penal to come forward, as they suspect there may be additional victims.