Detectives with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Sequim man this morning in connection with a July attack on a young woman bicycling on the Olympic Discovery Trail.

Sheriff Bill Benedict said detectives executed a search warrant at the home of Spencer J. Silva, 22, in Sequim and arrested him on suspicion of second-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment.

On July 21, a 22-year-old woman reported she was riding her bicycle eastbound as she approached a man wearing a hoodie walking with his back to her. When she told him she was passing to his left, he stepped to the left. When she announced she was passing to his right, he stepped right, Det. Sgt. Lyman Moores said in the days following the attack. As she passed the man he turned and grabbed her, knocking her and her bicycle to the ground.

The suspect, wearing a red, white and black Halloween mask, jumped on her and held her arms to her side as she kicked and "screamed bloody murder," Moores said.

The attacker gave up and fled as neighbors ran out of their homes to help the woman after hearing her screams.

Benedict said during the investigation Silva was identified as a suspect in part due to information provided to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigations Bureau by patrol deputies and citizens of Clallam County. A specific report provided by Deputy Brian Knutson and home surveillance video provided by a member of our community were of significance in helping to solve this crime, he said.

The efforts of the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory DNA Section and the Federal Bureau of Investigations Video Enhancement Section were instrumental in helping to bring about a swift confirmation to the investigation findings, he said.

"Crimes like this have a significant impact on our community," Benedict said in a news release. "All of us enjoy the many opportunities we have to recreate outdoors. The Discovery Trail is a valuable and important community asset and we take criminal activity on it very seriously; when acts like this occur it takes away from our feeling of safety while doing so. The Sheriff’s Office and local law enforcement are committed to the safety of our community and will use all resources available to identify, locate and arrest person(s) responsible for criminal acts such as this."

Silva is in custody at the Clallam County jail where he is being held without bond.