Police explain why sex assault suspect was set free

Police in Charlotte said Friday they had no choice but to let a suspect in two early morning sexual assaults walk out of the police department after 45 minutes of questioning by detectives.

That same suspect would be charged in a third assault several hours later.

SWAT officers arrested Lavatae Evans after a brief standoff Thursday afternoon. But one of the victims of the earlier assaults was stunned that officers let Evans go the first time.

"I pointed to him and I thought they took him off to jail. I don’t why would they release somebody like that?" she asked.

On Friday afternoon, police held a news conference to answer that question.

Maj. Vicki Foster, who oversees investigations, said that since Evans had come down to the police department voluntarily they could not hold him. Foster also said there were inconsistencies in the victims' stories that they had to resolve before they could arrest Evans.

Sources also told Eyewitness News that the women had gone with Evans willingly and had exchanged drugs with him during the encounter.

Detectives were, in fact, getting arrest warrants at the same time that Evans was allegedly assaulting his third victim -- a woman he had met at a bus stop after leaving the police department.

"It's just unfortunate that during that short period of time he was able to assault another person," Foster said.

Previous Stories: December 16, 2011: Sex assault suspect arrested after 3-hour standoff in Charlotte