A New Hampshire man accused of assaulting a woman on the trail at a Nashua park has been arrested, police said Monday.
Shane Totman, 30, faces a simple assault charge. His arrest comes as police investigate a string of alleged assaults on women at Mine Falls Park between Oct. 11 and Oct. 16. The victims reported a man approached from behind and slapped them before running away.
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Totman's arrest stems from one of those incidents, on Oct. 16, when a woman reported she was assaulted while walking in the park. According to the victim, a man came up from behind, grabbed her by the hood of her sweatshirt, and pulled her to the ground before taking off on a bicycle. The woman's friend was able to take a photo of the man was he rode off. They described the man as approximately 30 years old, about 5’11 tall, and wearing all black clothing and a white N95 type mask.
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Police said they increased patrols and on Oct. 18, an officer saw Totman, who matched the suspect's description, riding an electric scooter at the park. When stopped, he denied being involved.
However, police say, detectives from the Special Investigations Division and the Criminal Investigation Division were able to track the suspect in the Oct. 16 assault to a home on Blossom Street using surveillance footage from the area. The rider was wearing the same clothing and riding the same bike as seen in the photograph from the witness. The address was listed to Totman, who was arrested Sunday without incident.
Totman is scheduled for arraignment Monday afternoon.
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The investigation into these assaults continues. No one was injured in any of the incidents, police said, though they are urging anyone using Mine Falls Park to use caution and to travel with a companion for safety.
Anyone with information on any of these incidents is urged to call the Nashua Police Department Crime Line at (603)-589-1665.
