TYLER, Texas — A Tyler man is behind bars accused of being a serial rapist after a Texas Ranger found similarities in three separate sexual assaults in 2003, 2012 and 2016 and used DNA evidence to locate a suspect.
Vincente Rodriquez Zavaleta, 44, of Tyler, was booked into the Smith County Jail on a charge of aggravated sexual assault on March 21. His bond has been set at $500,000 bond, according to jail records.
An arrest affidavit shows a Texas Ranger, who is a part of the cold case and unsolved crimes division, was contacted in February 2022 about a serial rape investigation involving an unidentified male perpetrator in Tyler.
The ranger was told an unknown male DNA profile was linked to three sexual assaults involving women, including two who were abducted by the suspect, the affidavit said.
Victim #1 reported that she was abducted and sexually assaulted around Aug. 16, 2003. She described the suspect and said he identified himself as "Raul;" however, he later said that was not his name, the affidavit read.
She saw a cell phone in the car that kept ringing and she noticed the name "Vincente" on the screen. The suspect's car was a red four-door with a blue interior, chrome spoke wheels with a license plate number L52KRR, the document explained.
In December 2002, Zavaleta reported to Tyler police that his car with a similar description and the same license plate number was damaged. The ranger also said the physical description of this suspect is similar to Zavaleta, the document said.
Victim #2 told police she was abducted and sexually assaulted by two men on Dec. 11, 2012. She said the men, who were both Hispanic men believed to be in their 30s at the time, had identified themselves as "Miguel" and "Luis," the affidavit explained.
The woman described the suspects and their vehicle. She said the truck was a green Ford access cab pickup with a rosary hanging from inside the rear-view mirror. In 2011, a traffic citation was issued for a similar green truck of a different make, which was driven by a person believed to be connected to Zavaleta, the affidavit stated.
In the case of the third victim, she reported she was sexually assaulted on April 29, 2016 after she got into a vehicle with someone she thought she had seen in the area.
She described the suspect's vehicle as a newer model colored SUV with large chrome wheels, back and white zebra print seat covers and split rear doors. In an assault report from 2013, information showed Zavaleta was involved in an assault in which he was driving a black Lincoln Navigator at the time, the document said.
Through reviewing and investigating the reports, the Texas Ranger said a person who had the same DNA profile was involved in all three attacks.
A search of law enforcement's system used for researching DNA profile did not give an answer because Zavaleta's DNA wasn't in the system. The ranger then found Zavaleta's 22-year-old son, who agreed to give his DNA sample voluntarily, in October 2022, the affidavit said.
Zavaleta's son's DNA was sent off to a Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab for comparison.
The crime lab then forwarded information to the University of North Texas Health and Science Center to conduct a paternal examination using possible semen from one of the victim's panties and Zavaleta's DNA. A report from the UNT lab said the male DNA source from the clothing cannot be excluded as the son's father.
"The genetic results are 710,000 times more likely if the unidentified, male DNA source from the panties is the biological father of (Zavaleta's son)," the affidavit said.
Based on the investigation, DPS arrested Zavaleta on a charge of aggravated sexual assault on March 21, the document stated.