| An Allendale Road man was arrested this morning and is suspected to be the "Bike Path Rapist" responsible for several rapes and three homicides in Western New York since the 1980s.
Altemio Sanchez, 48, was arrested in Buffalo Monday morning. He is married and has two adult children, one who neighbors say lives at home.
Police executed a search warrat at Sanchez's home at 76 Allendale Monday morning. Investigators were still at the scene early Monday afternoon as curious neighbors looked on.
Local law enforcement agencies, including The New York State Police, Amherst Police, Buffalo Police, Cheektowaga Police and Erie County Sheriff's Department have been involved in the investigation.
Neighbors described Sanchez as a quiet family man, who helped his neighbors out during the freak October 12-13, 2006 snowstorm.
During an afternoon press conference at the Erie County Emergency Services Department, Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark said he anticipates that Sanchez will be charged soon with at least one of the three murders. Two additional murder charges are expected to quickly follow.
Law enforcement officials would not describe how they directly identified Sanchez as the Bike Path Rapist, but said that a DNA sample recently obtained was a 100 percent match with evidence from the homicides.
Sanchez has two prior arrests, in 1991 and 1999, both for allegedly patronizing a prostitute.
Additional details will be available in the January 18 edition of the Cheektowaga Times.
| 
