TYLER, Texas — A Tyler man was found guilty Thursday in connection with an over 10-year-old rape cold case.
Vincente Rodriquez Zavaleta, 45, who was initially named a suspect in three separate sexual assaults that happened in 2003, 2012 and 2016 , was convicted in connection with the Dec. 11, 2012 assault following a jury's verdict in 475th District Court.
Court officials said he will be sentenced by the judge on July 16.
He was arrested in March 2023 on two counts of sexual assault and an aggravated kidnapping charge after DNA evidence connected him to the cold cases. The 2003 and 2016 charges were later dismissed in the interest of justice, according to court filings.
According to an arrest affidavit, 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 affidavit described each of the incidents, and the ranger determined that an unknown male DNA profile was linked to all three attacks. Zavaleta's DNA wasn't in the law enforcement tracking system, but his son was and he voluntarily gave a DNA sample in October 2022.
After comparing the DNA from panties at the crime scene and the son's DNA, investigators determined there was high likelihood of the male DNA source from the panties being the biological father of Zavaleta's son, the affidavit said.
Following the investigation, Zavaleta was then arrested.