DNA evidence in theft leads to arrest in unsolved rape, kidnapping

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - A Shreveport man arrested for theft is facing additional charges for a 2014 rape and kidnapping case.

According to the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office, DNA samples belonging to 58-year-old Charles Edward Collins were collected during his arrest in June.

Detectives say the DNA matched another sample from a July 2014 case where a woman was reportedly kidnapped in Shreveport and raped.

According to investigators, the woman was returning from taking her trash to the dumpster at her apartment on Stoner Avenue.

Deputies say a man grabbed her and forced her into his truck at gunpoint.

She was reportedly driven to a gravel road near the 6100 block of Louisiana Highway 1 and raped.

After deputies were told about the match, detectives issued a warrant for Collins' arrest on second-degree kidnapping and aggravated rape charges.

Collins was arrested Monday at his home and booked into the Caddo Correctional Center.

His bond is set at $450,000.