Teen charged with attempted sex assault during home break-in has violent past

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police said a teen who has been charged with breaking into a woman's home and trying to sexually assault her last month has a violent past.

Deeshun Dade, 17, was charged Wednesday with breaking and entering, attempted rape, assault by strangulation, assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault on a female in connection with an east Charlotte home invasion on June 27.

[CMPD: Man accused of attacking woman inside home may be connected to break-ins]

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Dade broke into a home on Briarhill Drive through an unlocked window around 4:30 a.m. and attacked the 38-year-old woman inside.

Once inside the home, detectives said the teen attempted to sexually assault the victim and punched, kicked and stabbed her in the arm before running away.

Neighbors told Channel 9's veteran crime reporter Glenn Counts that the neighborhood was shaken up by the crime, but now everyone is relieved by the arrest.

"This area right here is one of the nicest quietest areas on this street. We just haven't had anything like that," said neighbor Curtis Thompson.

CMPD said Dade, who is on probation, has a history of violence and they used DNA evidence collected from the June 27 break-in to arrest him.

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In April, Dade was charged in an armed robbery on Barrington Drive along with a 15-year-old and was released to the custody of his mother on electronic monitoring.

Police said Dade's 15-year-old co-defendant was later arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a University of North Carolina at Charlotte student.

"We're gonna make sure that we turn over every stone to make sure that we hold these two individuals responsible," said CMPD Capt. Rob Dance.

Officers said Dade may also be responsible for five break-ins at homes in east Charlotte that happened on the same day in May.

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Nearly all the cases have the same things in common.

Police said all of the homes are within a half-mile of each other, near Eastway Drive, and the masked suspect broke in through a window while people were sleeping.

In four of the cases, people were inside the home at the time of the crimes, police said.

Officers said they are still working to determine if Dade is connected to the five break-ins.

At this point, he's only facing charges in the June 27 incident.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

Cox Media Group