A Soldotna man already facing attempted sexual assault and burglary charges in connection with a December home invasion and attack on a 23-year-old woman in her home last December has been indicted on new charges of kidnapping and sexual assault in connection with a November rape of an 18-year-old Soldotna woman.
Shane D. Heiman, 39, was arraigned in Kenai Superior Court Tuesday.
A Grand Jury added five more charges Friday after investigators said DNA evidence matched Heiman to the November sexual assault.
Heiman was indicted Tuesday on one count of kidnapping, one count of sexual assault in the first-degree, one count of sexual assault in the second-degree, assault in the third-degree and burglary in the first degree.
Heiman was arrested during a traffic stop in Soldotna on Dec. 13, 2013 after the officer conducting the stop, discovered Heiman matched the description of a man who broke into a home on Tobacco Lane in Soldotna armed with a knife and attempted to sexually assault a 23-year-old woman earlier in the night, according to the police affidavit.
He was originally charged with first-degree sexual assault, third-degree assault, first-degree burglary and resisting arrest for the December incident.
On Feb. 27, state prosecutors dismissed one count of sexual assault in the first-degree and one count of sexual assault in the second-degree. In all, Heiman faces eight felony charges and one misdemeanor from the two attacks.
The new charges stem from a report to the Alaska State Troopers that an 18-year-old woman had been taken from her apartment at knife point and raped repeatedly.
The victim said she woke up at about 4 a.m. to someone standing over her with a headlamp in one hand and a knife in the other. The attacker tied her hands behind her back, covered her head with a McDonald’s bag and carried her to his truck, according to her report.
The victim told police Heiman was going to slit her throat if she did not do what he told her. She said she was raped for approximately three hours and told she would not survive the encounter.
She was able to get out of the vehicle, a dark colored extended cab Chevy pickup, near Skyview High School when her assailant stopped to use the bathroom and from there she ran along the Sterling Highway to the Safeway parking lot in the early morning, according to the affidavit.
She was taken to Central Peninsula Hospital where police were notified of the incident. The Sexual Assault Response Team examined her and evidence was collected and submitted to the Crime Lab in Anchorage. On Feb. 24, the DNA collected from the SART exam was matched with Heiman’s DNA.
On Jan. 29, Judge Charles Huguelet set the conditions of release to $100,000 appearance with 10 percent in cash with a $35,000 cash performance bond. Huguelet also granted Roland Heiman third party custodianship in a bail hearing at the Kenai Courthouse.
State prosecutor Ben Jaffa said Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lawson requested bail be set at $250,000 given the seriousness of the offense and threat Heiman poses to the community.
“We may very well be dealing with someone constituted as a serial rapist,” he said. “Safety of the community is of paramount concern.”
Heiman’s public defender Josh Cooley said the state’s request of $250,000 is equivalent to $25 million bond. He said bail set by Huguelet is already more than the family can afford to pay.
In light of the new charges on Tuesday, Judge Carl Bauman raised the cash performance bond from $35,000 to $135,000 and denied Heiman contact with either of the two victims.
During the December attack, police allege that Heiman cut power to a woman’s cabin and entered armed with a 4-inch knife and wearing a headlamp, according to the complaint. The woman woke up when she felt her blanket being pulled off and said “excuse me” to the man standing at the foot of her bed, according to police.
The woman freed herself and ran for the door but Heiman pinned her against the wall and held the knife to her belly, according to police. She then pushed him away, pushed her way through an open door, jumped off a deck and ran to her brother’s home next door, according to the affidavit. The family called 911 to report the incident and Heiman fled the scene according to police.
In an interview at her brother’s house, the woman told police that her attacker resembled a man that worked on the home months earlier, but she said she had not seen him since.
Police stopped Heiman several miles away along Ski Hill Road heading in the direction of Funny River Road. In the truck, police found a headlamp, an empty sheath for a hunting knife and a shotgun.
Heiman denied being at the Tobacco Road residence and attempted to resist arrest as he yelled out, “I can’t go back,” as police placed him in custody.
In 2009, Heiman served 23 days in jail when he was found guilty of burglary in the first-degree and assault in the fourth-degree.
Heiman is currently in jail at Wildwood Pretrial Facility. His next court date is Friday, March 7 with Judge Huguelet at the Kenai Courthouse.
Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com
