A sample of saliva at the crime scene connected Anthony Ray Graham Jr. to the kidnapping and rape of a Bakersfield woman, District Attorney Edward R. Jagels said in a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
The announcement came just minutes after Graham, 28, pleaded not guilty to the six felonies charges against him.
Bail was set at $3 million.
If convicted, he could face a life prison term.
Jagels and Police Chief William Rector held a joint news conference Tuesday afternoon to thank investigators and crime lab scientists for, they said, cracking the case.
DNA from saliva found at the scene matched DNA taken from Graham when he was prosecuted for an earlier crime, Jagels said.
Police say Graham was the man who kidnapped a woman and her baby from the Babies R Us parking lot on Rosedale Highway Jan. 29.
The victim said she was forced at gunpoint into her car and made to drive to a nearby ATM and withdraw money. She then was forced to drive to a remote corner of the parking lot of Fruitvale Junior High School, where she was sexually assaulted, she told police.
Graham is a resident of Los Angeles who has a 2007 conviction for battery in that county. Bakersfield Police said the victim identified him from a photograph.
KGET had a crew in court this afternoon and at the District Attorney/Police Chief news conference, and will have a live report on 17News@5 and 6.
