The last thing he told police he remembers is giving an acquaintance a ride to South Bend.
Then he woke up in the back seat of his car wearing nothing but his underwear after being drugged and raped, police said.
The victim, an Elkhart man, told South Bend police he was driving home Feb. 19 when he spotted the acquaintance on the street and the man asked for a ride to South Bend.
On the way they stopped first at a home in Mishawaka, where the suspect went inside while the victim waited in the car, according to police.
The suspect returned and the victim drove to a nearby gas station. He went inside to use the restroom while the suspect waited in the car, police said.
When the victim got back in the car, he “finished drinking his can of soda” as he drove, police said.
But suddenly he began to grow tired, according to police.
“The friend was encouraging him to fall asleep,” an officer said.
The victim told police he grew too weary to drive, so he turned the wheel over to the suspect.
The victim recalled the suspect stopping the car at a “Welcome to South Bend” sign before continuing toward the Courtyard Place Apartments.
“It’s the last thing he remembers,” an officer said.
That is, until the victim woke up in the back seat of his car parked near the intersection of Bendix Drive and Western Avenue wearing only his underwear and unable to locate his clothes.
Police said he drove home to Elkhart and took a shower.
While showering, he noticed injuries to his body indicating he had been raped, according to an officer.
The victim identified the suspect by name.
The victim drove himself to Elkhart General Hospital, where he underwent an examination, police said.
According to police, “(The victim) thinks his friend spiked the drink.”
Staff writer Jeff Harrell:
