McAllen runners on high alert after man arrested on indecent assault charge
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Runners in McAllen are on high alert after police arrested a man accused of inappropriately touching a woman on an exercise trail last week.
The man, identified as 28-year-old Eduardo Ramon, has been charged with indecent assault, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Hidalgo County jail records show that Ramon has been jailed on the same charge three times since October 2021.
Now, runners in McAllen say they’re taking extra precautions before they work out. For runner and cyclist Kristen Woods, hearing about the story was a wakeup call.
"It does make me a little more scared, but it puts a little more fire under me to make sure that I am being more cautious, and more aware, so that it doesn't happen to me or anybody I know,” Woods said.
Mayra Melendez, a cyclist who frequents 2nd street, says it's a recurring issue and recalls hearing of similar incidents in years past.
RELATED: ‘Grabbed me inappropriately’: McAllen runner speaks out after report of assault on trail
"I've heard about situations like this, maybe the first time I heard about this was 2011––also women being attacked on 2nd street," Melendez said.
The women are hoping the city will find more ways to make people feel safe on the trail.
"There's no point in having all of these awesome trails if we're not going to have security, so we need to up the security in our areas for our runners,” said Brandy Ruiz.
Channel 5 News reached out to the city of McAllen and McAllen police to ask if there are plans to increase surveillance and law enforcement presence along the trail.
McAllen police responded with a statement that reads, "The McAllen Police Department tries to identify all suspects of criminal activity through surveillance, investigative, and patrol techniques. The application of these techniques resulted in the detention of the person of interest in this matter."
However, the statement makes no mention of additional plans to improve surveillance on second street.
If you do plan on exercising outside, the Texas Department of Public Safety suggests you keep your phone on you, make sure it's charged, consider carrying a whistle or pepper spray, and opt for an area where there's a lot of people around.
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