DNA evidence conclusively links a 40-year-old Tucson man with the sexual assault of a teenage girl who was robbed, along with her mother, outside a convenience store in December 2005, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.
Tuesday was the first day in the sexual assault and robbery trial of Walter Ward.
A 37-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter stopped at a convenience store near East 29th Street and South Craycroft Road to put air in a tire when the mother was forced back into her van by Stephen Jay Calaway, 57, Deputy Pima County Attorney Michelle Araneta said.
When the mom got into the car, she saw Ward holding her daughter at gunpoint. After demanding money, debit cards and personal identification from the women, Araneta said, Ward forced the girl into the convenience store to withdraw some funds.
On the way back to the van, Ward took the girl behind a nearby shed where he sexually assaulted and molested her, Araneta said.
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After returning to the van, Calaway threw away the woman’s keys and both men drove away in another vehicle.
A DNA test matched saliva found on the girl to Ward, Araneta said.
The Arizona Daily Star does not name the victims of alleged sex crimes.
Ward is facing multiple counts of aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery and a variety of sex charges.
Jacob Amaru, an assistant Pima County public defender, urged jurors to reserve judgment about the DNA, suggesting they will hear testimony about evidence contamination.
Moreover, the girl herself initially denied Ward did anything to her, Amaru said.
When asked by her mother if Ward had hurt her, Amaru quoted the girl as saying “‘No mama, no! He behaved very good. Calm down. He behaved very good.’”
The girl’s mother also gave police a different version of events every time she spoke to them, Amaru said.
The trial is being presided over by Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields.
Moments before jury selection started Tuesday, Fields sentenced Calaway to 44.5 years in prison.
Calaway was convicted on seven felony charges last month, including kidnapping, aggravated robbery, armed robbery and aggravated assault.
Calaway is also scheduled to go to trial in November on a charge of solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
He is accused of offering a fellow inmate $3,000, antiques and a Chevrolet Suburban to kill a woman who refused to provide him an alibi in the kidnapping and robbery case.
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