Details have emerged from the kidnapping and rape of a Pahrump woman on July 17 as the "homeless" man accused of the crime was arraigned Wednesday in Pahrump Justice Court before Judge Tina Brisebill.

The suspect, Robert Steven Yowell, 51, was identified by the victim within hours of the crime's alleged commission from sheriff's office photographs. Sheriff Tony DeMeo said in an interview Wednesday, "He was actually staying someplace; he wasn't homeless."

Yowell now faces a preliminary hearing on Sept. 27 to establish probable cause on the three counts he is charged with: robbery with use of a deadly weapon, for stealing the woman's purse; first degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon, a Class A felony; and sexual assault with use of a deadly weapon, also Class A felony.

"He's facing a maximum of four life sentences, plus 30 years," said Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett. "Based upon the severity of these alleged crimes, the District Attorney's Office intends to prosecute Mr. Yowell to the fullest extent the law allows."

"This is the first homeless offender to be charged with a sexual assault," said DeMeo. "Usually the homeless are not involved in violent crimes."

Nevertheless, DeMeo warned, "Homeless does not mean harmless."

"We consider him a danger to the community and a flight risk," said Beckett. "We'll be arguing for a high bail."

Yowell was arrested in Petrack Park, the main hangout for Pahrump's homeless population, shortly after the victim identified him.

The victim has been identified as a 36-year-old handicapped woman who approached Wal-Mart to shop on July 16 at around 9:30 p.m. The woman drove her car into the parking lot from the back of the shopping plaza, turning off Dahlia Street, and her assailant apparently noticed this.

The woman parked in a handicapped parking spot intending to go in the store to shop for a purse, according to the sheriff's office report. Before going in the store, Yowell approached her and asked her if she knew the time. It was 9:23 p.m.

When she came out of the store some time later, Yowell was alledgedly waiting for her. According to DeMeo, he ran down to the junction of Dahlia Street and Basin Avenue and waited.

"He saw how she came in and pulled into the handicap spot," said DeMeo. "He assumed how she would leave. Perpetrators scope out their victims. To him it was a crime of opportunity."

When the woman left Wal-Mart, she again entered Dahlia Street and approached the Basin Avenue intersection, stopping at the stop sign where Yowell was waiting for her, according to the sheriff's office report.

Yowell, according to the report, jumped out in front of the car and was hit. Initially, DeMeo said, "He hit her," but then said, "She hit him."

Either way, the woman rolled down her passenger window and asked if Yowell was OK, whereupon he reached in, opened the door and got into her car.

Yowell had a black, serrated knife with a blade about three or four inches in length, according to DeMeo's office, which he allegedly held up to the woman's body.

He told her to drive on.

DeMeo said the woman was directed "down a dark road," identified in the criminal complaint as McMurray Drive, south of Simkins Road, some 14 miles away from where Yowell entered the vehicle.

It was now some time around midnight.

In Count III of the complaint, signed by Assistant Sheriff Rick Marshall, Yowell forced himself upon the victim and raped her.

According to Beckett, the law makes no distinction as to the object used in the penetration, i.e., whether the perpetrator raped his victim in the ordinary sense of the word or whether he manually used a foreign object.

The woman's boyfriend took her to University Medical Center in Las Vegas for examination, according to the sheriff, where evidence was found of forced penetration consistent with trauma.

"As far as our office is concerned, a woman has been brutally victimized," said DeMeo. Nevertheless, he added, "We can learn from this." Don't roll your window down all the way when you speak to a stranger you meet on the road, he said.

"Use your cell phone if you think someone might be injured," added Beckett.

"We recommend that people not get out of their vehicle," said DeMeo.

PAC artist wanted to paint kiosk mural

The Pahrump Tourism Advisory Board (PTAB) is asking for a Pahrump Arts Council volunteer artist to paint a mural on the outside wall of the tourist information kiosk located at the Bob Ruud Community Center.

This is a volunteer effort, not a paid position. The PTAB will reimburse the artist for all materials required for the mural. The size of the wall is 8ft X 20ft with a center peak of 10ft, 6 inches.

The PTAB requires a drawing of planned murals. Drawings may be submitted in pencil, ink, charcoal or paste, black and white or color to Kari Frilot (also a member of the PTAB) at the Pahrump Chamber of Commerce. Drawings may be mailed to: Pahrump Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 42, 2nd Floor, Pahrump, NV 89041.

Contact Jan at 751-5282 for more information.