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Police arrested a homeless man Friday after he was accused of attacking and raping a woman at knifepoint near Lincoln Road on South Beach the day before, an arrest report said.
According to Miami Beach Police, the attack happened shortly after 7:30 a.m. Thursday along Michigan Avenue, near Lincoln Road.
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According to the arrest report, the suspect, 26-year-old Willie Amzi Rouse, and another man on a bike had been bothering the 45-year-old victim as she walked along Lincoln Road.
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Police said the woman lost sight of the pair, but as she cut through a parking lot, she ran into Rouse.
According to the arrest report, Rouse allegedly pushed the victim to the ground, and punched her upper lip.
The woman then grabbed a knife that was on the ground and stabbed Rouse in the upper body, but he disarmed her, turned the weapon on her, and proceeded to rape her, the report said.
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Bystanders heard the woman screaming and called 911 as Rouse got up and ran west on 17th Street, the arrest report said.
According to the report, the woman was able to provide details on Rouse's clothing and told police she overheard him tell the other man he was from North Carolina and that he was wearing a pair of camouflage Crocs.
Rouse was arrested the next day on a charge of drinking in public, the report said. Police mentioned that he matched a be-on-the-lookout notice for the rape suspect.
Police said Rouse further corroborated the victim's details and told officers he was from North Carolina and was wearing a pair of camouflage Crocs when he was arrested.
Rouse also had a laceration on his arm, which according to the arrest report was “consistent with the victim’s account of the possible injuries sustained by her attacker during the sexual battery."
Authorities said Rouse declined to speak with detectives and he is facing armed sexual battery and misdemeanor battery charges.
On Monday, he was being held without bond in the Metrowest Detention Center.
