TAMARAC, FL — Broward Sheriff’s Office cold case detectives arrested a suspect this month in a 2015 kidnapping and sexual battery investigation that began in Tamarac and remained unsolved for years, according to the agency.
Investigators identified 59-year-old Melvin Kendrick as one of two men accused of forcing a young woman into a vehicle outside an apartment complex in Tamarac, then sexually battering her in a secluded area of a parking lot, BSO said. The second suspect has not been identified, and the investigation into that person is ongoing.
The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, 2015, BSO said. The young woman was leaving an apartment complex and walking toward the parking lot when she was approached by a stranger. Investigators said the man grabbed her, threatened to kill her, and forced her into a waiting vehicle.
BSO said a second male was inside the vehicle. Once the victim was in the car, investigators said the men threw her phone out the window and drove to a secluded area of the parking lot, where the sexual battery occurred.
BSO said the victim was eventually able to escape that night by opening the car door and jumping from the moving vehicle. Investigators said she ran to a nearby business and called for help.
Detectives investigated the case in 2015, but the case went cold with few leads, BSO said. Forensic evidence collected during the initial investigation revealed potential DNA profiles, investigators said. Those unknown profiles were entered into a national database, but no matches were identified at the time, according to BSO.
In December 2024, BSO’s Cold Case Unit reviewed the case and re-examined the DNA evidence collected during the original investigation, authorities said. Investigators said that evidence was submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement DNA Database.
BSO said the DNA results identified an inmate who was a possible close family member of one of the attackers. Investigators said that development led detectives to Kendrick as a potential DNA match.
According to BSO, investigators interviewed Kendrick and collected a sample of his DNA. The BSO Crime Lab then compared Kendrick’s DNA sample to the attacker’s DNA profile and determined it was a positive match, the agency said.
The case was filed with the Broward County State Attorney’s Office and an arrest warrant was issued, BSO said.
On Feb. 19, 2026, BSO’s V.I.P.E.R. (Violence Intervention Proactive Enforcement Response) investigators located Kendrick and took him into custody, according to the agency. He faces one count of sexual battery and one count of false imprisonment, BSO said.
BSO is asking anyone with information related to the case to contact Detective David Towsley at 954-321-4210 or submit a tip through the SaferWatch App. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), online at browardcrimestoppers.org, or by dialing **TIPS (8477) from any cellphone in the United States.
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