Authorities said Juan Vernard Taylor, 45, was arrested Friday morning in Charlotte. He is currently being held in the Mecklenburg County jail under a $125,000 bond.
Taylor was previously convicted of second-degree murder in the 1997 death of an 82-year-old man. The alleged rape and kidnapping occurred six years earlier.
Police said a victim was walking on Newland Avenue in June 1991 when a vehicle pulled up beside her. Authorities said she was forced inside the vehicle, then driven a short distance away where she was raped. The victim was let go, and the suspects fled the scene, police said. The victim then flagged down police to report to attack.
Police said the arrest came after detectives with CMPD’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit re-examined the case, and were able to link Taylor to the crime using DNA evidence.