WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — On Tuesday, a man pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree kidnapping and one count of second-degree rape in connection with the 2023 assault of an elderly woman in Winston-Salem.

According to the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office, Byron Shane Martin entered a store located on Reynolda Road that the woman owned, locked the door and armed himself with a hammer from the store. Martin then forced the woman into the back of the store, where he sexually assaulted her.

Martin fled the scene but was identified by the victim as her attacker. He was arrested a short time later. According to the DA's office, the victim asked the District Attorney to "try to resolve the case so that she would not have to come to court to testify, both for her health and her healing

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