Police say 23-year-old Damichael Allen has been conclusively linked to the burglary and subsequent rape through a DNA match.
Allen was in custody for a weapons violation when the match was made.
He will be charged with rape, possession of a firearm, burglary and related offenses.
On May 28th, police responded to a home in the 1200 block of Terra Hill Drive at 2:20 a.m. for the report of a home invasion.
Once there, the 24-year-old victim reported to the officers she had just been robbed and sexually assaulted inside her apartment.
According to authorities the victim was sleeping in her bed and was startled when she woke to find the male suspect standing over armed with a handgun. The man pointed the weapon at the victim and demanded money. Moments later, he forced her into another room in the home where he raped her before stealing cash and fleeing from the apartment.
With the victim's assistance, police were able to construct a sketch of the suspect. They distributed the flyer around the community. Several area residents indicated they had seen the person portrayed in the sketch in the Edgemoor community.
Police say the person, Allen, was later spotted walking on Salisbury Drive by residents who then waved down a passing Wilmington Police unit. The officers, who were in the area on an unrelated investigation, then approached and detained Allen until county police officers arrived. At the time of his arrest, he was found to have a loaded handgun in his waistband.
County investigators arrested Allen for the weapon violation and later determined the gun had been recently stolen in a burglary.
Based on the likeness of the composite sketch and other mitigating factors, detectives executed a search warrant at his home where they recovered circumstantial evidence that indicated his possible involvement in the rape case. Investigators later executed a search warrant for "the body of" Allen for DNA samples.
Allen's DNA and evidence samples collected from the crime scene were then delivered to the Delaware State Medical Examiner's Office for an analysis. Meanwhile, Allen was committed to federal prison for the weapon violations and held without bail at a detention facility in New Jersey.
The results of the DNA comparison came back late Tuesday as a match for Damichael Allen.
Allen will be arraigned on the rape related charges as soon as arrangements can be made with the federal authorities who are holding him in New Jersey.
