Sex assault suspect was arrested the day before

By Hannah Mackenzie

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Police said a man facing multiple charges in Weaverville committed a crime in Asheville less than 24 hours before his arrest.

Richard Barnhill, 31, is charged with assault on a female, assault by strangulation, attempted second-degree sex offense, kidnapping and trespassing.

According to the Weaverville Police Department, on Sunday, March 20, the Tennessee man assaulted a woman and held her against her will at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Fairfield Approach Drive.

Barnhill is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility on a $352,000 bond.

According to Asheville police, Barnhill was at the detention center less than 24 hours earlier, after they arrested him for trespassing at a different hotel on Saturday, March 19.

“We had a call about a suspicious person at a hotel off Meadow Road,” Sgt. Lucas Lovelace said.

Lovelace said officers responded to the Courtyard by Marriott after Barnhill ignored multiple requests from hotel staff to leave.

“He was knocking on doors, trying to talk to folks, which is out of the norm for someone at a hotel at that time in the morning,” Lovelace said.

According to APD, officers arrived to the hotel at 6:29 a.m. Within an hour-and-a-half, Barnhill was arrested, taken to the Buncombe County Detention Facility and released.

The Buncombe County Magistrate’s Office has not responded to News 13’s request for comment regarding Barnhill’s quick release.

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