SAN MATEO, Calif. — A Manteca man has been arrested in connection to a 32-year-old attempted murder case, that nearly left a woman dead in her home, according to San Mateo police.
John Harris, Jr., 55, was arrested by law enforcement on Wednesday after an investigation that spanned over three decades. Officers are crediting updated DNA technology after they got a match in December 2020.
Police say someone broke into an apartment in the 3100 block of Casa De Campo in San Mateo at around 4:15 a.m. on February 4, 1989. The suspect reportedly climbed into the victim's bed with a knife he found in the kitchen.
While covering his face with a bandana, he allegedly threatened her with the knife before raping, choking and stabbing her, police say. The victim called the police after she somehow convinced her attacker to leave.
Police did not provide the victim's identity. They say Harris lived in the same neighborhood but she did not know him.
Police believe Harris lived around the San Francisco Bay area, San Joaquin County and Arizona since the attack in 1989.
Harris is currently booked into the San Mateo County Main Jail. His bail is set at $500,000.
