Derby PD Photo
Drinks
DERBY — Police Tuesday arrested a suspect in the weekend rape of a 75-year-old woman on the Derby Greenway.
Artay Drinks, 46, of Waterbury, was charged with first-degree sexual assault, third-degree robbery, and third-degree assault of an elderly person, according to a statement Derby police posted on Facebook.
He is being held on a $400,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on Elizabeth Street today (Tuesday, Nov. 5).
The victim was walking on the Derby Greenway when Drinks allegedly knocked her down while her back was turned.
The attack happened at 1:30 p.m. while other people were in the area. The Derby Greenway is a popular spot that stretches along the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers.
Derby police Lt. Justin Stanko said police recovered evidence in Drinks’ possession that ties him directly to the victim. Stanko also said that Drinks made an incriminating statement to police.
Police first described the attack as happening near the Route 8 overpass on the walking trail. That led people to believe it happened in a narrow, tunnel-like section of the trail directly under a road.
Stanko said the attack happened in the open.
“It did not happen in a dark, desolate part of the trail. It was out in the open,” Stanko said.
Police do not have a witness who saw the crime, but they do have witnesses who said they saw a person matching Brinks’ description in the area.
Drinks is also a suspect in larcenies from businesses that happened on Pershing Drive in Ansonia Saturday.
Derby police shared with the public and police departments in the region images from surveillance video obtained from the Ansonia larcenies.
Waterbury police recognized the suspect, learned there was a warrant for his arrest for unrelated charges out of Westport, and took Drinks into custody Monday.
Derby police have interviewed Drinks.
He is also a suspect in a larceny from the boys’ locker room at Staples High School. Click here for a story on that allegation.
Several prior media reports involving Drinks describe him as an Ansonia resident.
