A Cypress Gardens employee arrested in connection to two rapes in southeast Winter Haven was denied bail this morning at his first court appearance in Polk County.
A judge has appointed a public defender to represent Edwin G. Mejia-Zapata, 25. A DNA test linked Mejia-Zapata to the rapes, police said.
In February, one victim was followed from a Burger King to her home in the Verandahs at Lake Reeves condominium community, authorities said. In June, a second victim was followed from a 7-Eleven convenience store near Lake Ruby to her home in the same subdivision.
It is a coincidence that both victims lived in the Verandahs, police said.
Mejia-Zapata, of 7183 Summit Drive, was arrested at home about 6:20 p.m. Monday by detectives from the Winter Haven Police Department and the Polk County Sheriff's Office, authorities said.
He is charged with two counts of armed burglary and seven counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon.
During the initial investigation, DNA evidence was gathered, but at the time there was no match in law enforcement databases, said City of Winter Haven spokeswoman Joy Townsend.
Mejia-Zapata was at a Wal-Mart in southeast Winter Haven and a customer recognized him from descriptions released by law enforcement, Townsend said. When authorities contacted Mejia-Zapata, a DNA sample was retrieved and analyzed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Mejia-Zapata's DNA matched the evidence at the scene of the rapes, police said. When police searched his home today, a handgun matching the description given by the victims was found, Townsend said.
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