13-year-old cold case closes with guilty plea for rape charges

WARNER ROBINS – Dendrick Devonte Solomon, 31, was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole, for one count of rape in a case deemed cold for 13 years.

According to the media release, the incident happened in May 2010 when Solomon was 17. At the time, he lived a few minutes away from the victim, but the two were strangers. 

The victim was 40 years old at the time. On the night of the incident, the victim woke up to use the bathroom and noticed someone in her living room. The media release says she called out to him, he told her to shut up and he approached her in the bathroom.

The victim attempted to fight him off but he bit her finger and punched her in the face multiple times. Solomon beat the victim to the point where she briefly lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, Solomon was raping her. He forced her to perform various sexual acts before he fled the victim’s home.

The media release says when Warner Robins Police Department responded to the victim’s house, they found her beaten and bloody. They observed multiple facial injuries and an injury on her finger. Evidence of the brutal crime was found in her bathroom and she was taken for medical care at Houston Healthcare. 

As part of her medical care, the victim’s fingernails were swabbed for potential DNA, according to the media release. The swabs were then sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Department of Forensic Sciences. However, law enforcement was unable to develop a suspect and the case went cold.

The case was cold until August 2023, when Lt. Justin Clark with WRPD received notification from the GBI they discovered a CODIS match in the case. The CODIS match determined the suspect’s DNA potentially belonged to Solomon.

After 13 years, law enforcement finally had a suspect. Clark reexamined the case and obtained a sample of Soloman’s DNA, which was then sent to the GBI for comparison. After analyzing both specimens, the GBI confirmed the DNA belonged to Solomon.

The case was investigated by Clark and Sgt. Shane Mann of the WRPD. The case was prosecuted by Houston Circuit Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane.

Duane said: 

“What happened in this case is every woman’s nightmare—a complete stranger breaking into a house and brutally beating and sexually assaulting a woman. It’s horrifying. Although it took us a while, I am grateful to be able to say today that justice has been done. Mr. Solomon will spend the rest of his life in prison and the victim in this case now gets the vindication she deserves. Thank you to the GBI, Sgt. Mann and Lt. Clark for their work in this case and thank you to the victim advocates and medical personnel who do everything they can for sexual assault   survivors.”

District Attorney Eric Z. Edwards also shared his comments in the media release: 

“This case is a powerful reminder that justice does not have an expiration date. For thirteen years, the victim in this case lived with the trauma of what was done to her, not knowing if her attacker would ever be identified. Thanks to continuous advancements in forensic science and the perseverance of law enforcement, today she has an answer—and justice has been served.”

Edwards also gives thanks for the efforts of those involved in solving the case and remembers victims of sexual assault.

“I have the utmost respect for the victim’s courage in facing this process so many years later. I am grateful to the Warner Robins Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for their relentless work in bringing this case to resolution. I also want to recognize ADA Justin Duane for his efforts in ensuring that this violent offender will never again have the opportunity to harm another person. To all survivors of sexual assault: know that our office will never stop fighting for you, no matter how much time has passed.”