TEXARKANA, Texas–A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in downtown Texarkana last month was reportedly held for police by a man on a bicycle who heard her screams for help and took action.
Qunten Barros, 33, was arrested for sexual assault Dec. 22 after a 64-year-old man riding his bicycle near the intersection of Oak and W. 5th Streets heard a woman screaming “help me,” and stopped to help, according to a probable cause affidavit. The man told police that he approached and found a man on top of a woman assaulting her.
When the man on the bicycle yelled for him to stop, Barros allegedly “jumped up, pulled his pants up and started running towards Texas Blvd.,” the affidavit said.
The man on the bicycle reported that he yelled to a friend down the street to stop the alleged attacker and he did, by putting Barros in a chokehold until members of the Texarkana Texas Police Dept. arrived to sort things out.
The alleged victim was reportedly upset and her pants partially pulled down when officers first tried to speak with her but she allegedly told them later that, while she may have met Barros before, she had no relationship with him before he attacked her. Barros allegedly ignored the woman’s pleas for him to stop until the man on the bicycle stepped in to help.
Barros faces two to 20 years in prison if convicted of sexual assault. He is currently being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $75,000.
