A 31-year-old Kent man pleaded not guilty on Monday to two counts of first-degree rape and one count of second-degree rape for reportedly raping prostitutes in North Seattle.
Brandon Cole Reed is scheduled to return to court for a case setting on April 26 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent when a trial date could be set or attorneys could ask for more time to prepare the case. He remains in custody at the county jail in Seattle with bail set at $500,000.
County prosecutors alleged that Reed would pick up women in January in his silver 2013 VW Jetta along Aurora Avenue North, drive to a nearby location, threaten to kill or hurt them with a knife and then rape them in the car.
One of the victims obtained Reed’s license plate number. He also was identified in photo montages shown to the victims. Detectives found further evidence of the rapes in Reed’s vehicle. He is a suspect in several additional rapes which remain under investigation.
Seattle Police noted in a probable cause report that five other rapes of prostitutes could be connected to Reed.
Reed told detectives he had multiple knives in his car, including kitchen knives. At first, Reed denied having any contact with prostitutes along Aurora but later admitted he had sex with two of them. Police found knives and mace in Reed’s vehicle.
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