The Washington Police Department in Gloucester County credited social media and a nurse with helping them track down the suspect, identified as 49-year-old Willie Harris. “We published the post on social media around 9 p.m. and was in custody at 11 p.m.,” Washington Police Chief Patrick Gurczyk said. Harris was arrested two days after the incident. The attack happened around 2:14 p.m. Tuesday at a law office in the 200 block of North 13th Street. Police say a 22-year-old woman was raped while her best friend was out for lunch. They were the only two working in the office at the time. Philadelphia police released surveillance video of Harris. The video reportedly shows the suspect walking in and out of the office building before the attack. Once inside the building, police said the suspect went to the 8th floor and entered the unlocked law office. The man indicated he was looking for someone, but the victim said he did not know the name, according to Capt. James Kearney of the Special Victims Unit. The man then asked the victim to sit on a chair. Harris then allegedly began rummaging through the office and the victim offered to give the man her Airpods and earrings in hopes that he would leave. He then became angry and hit and choked the victim when she tried to scream for help, police said. Kearney said the suspect then raped the victim. The attack stopped when the colleague returned to the office. The suspect then fled. Authorities noted that Harris was located in Woodbury, New Jersey on Wednesday. Late Thursday afternoon, the Washington Township Police Department received information that Harris had been seen on Egg Harbor Road near the Xpress Mart. Detectives went to that location and retrieved surveillance video of Harris standing at the bus stop. Police then posted a “be on the lookout” post on social media with Harris’ photo around 9 p.m. It was shared thousands of times. Within an hour, a nurse from Jefferson Washington Township Hospital called police saying they believed the suspect was at the hospital and had just been discharged. The police found him on a bench outside and took him into custody. “An alert nurse here at the hospital saw (the social media post) on her shift and immediately alerted hospital security and the police department and we were there within a minute or two and picked him up and took him into custody without cause an episode.” Chief Gurcsik said. After the arrest, police updated the social media post saying, “We thank our community of followers for viewing and sharing this social media post.” They added a photo of Harris with the words “in custody.” The chief says Harris will likely be held in the county jail and extradited to Pennsylvania. Copyright © 2022 WPVI-TV. All rights reserved.
