By Andy Hoag
A Saginaw man remains jailed on charges that he raped a woman earlier this year.
Lafayette T. Watkins, 27, is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct causing personal injury in a Jan. 15 incident.
Watkins lived at 1036 S. Jefferson, a house split into apartments, police said. A female tenant had a friend visiting her, and after his initial advances were rebuffed by the guest, Watkins later raped the woman in the house, police said.
He then stole a cellphone from another female at the house, police said.
First-degree criminal sexual conduct, the most serious of sexual offenses, involves penetration and carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. In connection with the alleged phone theft, Watkins is charged with larceny from a person, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
In arraigning Watkins on Jan. 16, Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and held him on a $100,000 bond.
Watkins is scheduled for a Jan. 30 preliminary hearing before District Judge A.T. Frank.
This article was written by Andy Hoag and originally published on mlive
