Uber driver helps police identify rape suspects; suspects charged with second-degree rape

KIRKLAND, Wash. — UPDATE: The suspects in this rape case were acquitted by a King County Jury on July 27, 2019.

Previous coverage:

Levi Scott Brower and Dominick Mariutto have been charged with second-degree rape.

The two were arrested Wednesday. At a bail hearing Thursday bail was set in the amount of $100,000 each.

Court documents state Brower and Mariutto knowingly sexually assaulted a woman they knew was intoxicated; she woman sustained serious injuries. They had met the woman at a nightclub Saturday evening.

Documents also state Brower and Mariutto knowingly deceived the victim by giving her false names, lying about where they were from and even telling the victim they were taking their grandmother to church the next morning.

The two also relayed an elaborate lie to the Uber driver who drove them away from the victim's home. The driver also reported Brower and Mariutto were "joking back and forth" about twin sisters they had met at a bar. They told the driver they had to flee the house -- jumping from a balcony -- because they were "having a good time," but the "sisters" parents came home.

Charging documents state these actions point to the idea that the two friends attack of the woman was planned.

Brower moved to the area 10 months ago and Mariutto does not live in the area, but was visiting Brower. They are both from Alaska.

ORIGINAL STORY: Uber is getting credit for helping the Kirkland Police Department identify and arrest two rape suspects.

Lt. Rob Saloum of the Kirkland Police Department said two men gave a 23-year-old woman fake names when they met her at Seattle’s Barca nightclub late Saturday night. After a night of drinking, the men offered to share an Uber to escort the woman safely home to Kirkland.

That’s when the two men repeatedly sexually assaulted the woman, Saloum said.

The woman reported the attack to police the next day, but only knew the men by the names “John” and “Alex.”

Saloum said Uber helped identify the two men who rode in the car that night with the alleged victim -- and neither one of them is named “John” or “Alex.” Each of the men are 26 years old

The suspects are originally from Fairbanks, Alaska, and have known each other since childhood, according to statements made during their bail hearing Thursday afternoon.

The suspects are not being named because they have not yet been formally charged.

One of the suspects is on active duty with the U.S. Army and is currently stationed in Texas. The other suspect was recently medically discharged and works for a financial services company in Bellevue.

At the men’s bail hearing at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stanley Lloyd asked that bail be set at $100,000 for each suspect; he cited the violence of the attack, during which the men allegedly sexually assaulted the woman simultaneously and caused her to bleed from a tear in her mouth.

King County Court Judge Jason Poydras agreed and ordered $100,000 bail for each of the men.

According to investigative documents, while the victim was washing blood of herself, the suspects fled the Kirkland home. They were both arrested at a home in Kent on Wednesday afternoon.

An Uber spokeswoman released this statement Thursday night:

"We applaud police for their quick action in making an arrest. We are grateful to hear how our technology along with our dedicated team that works closely with police were able to help assist detectives with this investigation.”

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