Arrest made in 1996 cold case sexual assault, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office says
Authorities arrested a suspect earlier this year in a sexual assault cold case from more than 25 years ago, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced this week.
The suspect, identified as Chase Jason Weston and also known as Jason David Long, was arrested by deputies May 10 on suspicion of a “violent sexual assault” in northern Sacramento County in 1996, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday evening.
“Weston was detained and arrested as he was preparing to board a flight to Mexico from Texas,” sheriff’s officials wrote.
Weston, 52, was booked May 17 into the Sacramento County Main Jail downtown on one charge of rape by means of force, violence, duress, menace or fear, booking records show. He is ineligible for bail.
Sacramento Superior Court records show Weston was arraigned May 19. He is next due in court Sept. 21 for a settlement conference.
The Sheriff’s Office said the case went cold until detectives recently “requested evidence be processed utilizing techniques not available at the time of the initial crime.” New leads established Weston as the suspect, and court records show charges were filed and an arrest warrant issued in early May.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the agency’s sexual assault bureau at 916-874-5070 or by email at SEAB@sacsheriff.com.
