(Editors note: Information in this story was also provided by Sabrina Bates, Editor, Weakley County Press.)
The suspect at the center of a home invasion rape investigation on Raven Street in Martin, Tenn., Aug. 30, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Sept. 30, before Weakley County General Sessions Judge Tommy Moore.
Bruce A. Tuck, 35, was arrested Sept. 2 at his parents’ home, in Gleason Tenn., after DNA evidence linked him to the most recent, of several attacks in Martin, Tenn., which occurred at 424 Raven St.
The search for evidence connecting Tuck to the rape investigations, led authorities to Centre Storage, on State Highway 22, in Carroll County, Sept. 2, where a mask was recovered.
The mask found resembled the one worn by the serial rape suspect in the initial sketch released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) this summer.
According to the Carroll County News-Leader in Huntingdon, Tenn., in a story written by Shirley Nanney, sources close to the investigation said Tuck or a member of his family had a storage unit rented at Centre Storage near Carroll County Airport.
According to one source, the search turned up a mask similar to the ones that victims said was worn by the perpetrator in the attacks.
This type of mask is worn by firemen underneath their helmets. At one time, Tuck was a volunteer with the Munford-Atoka Fire Department. He also worked as a jailer at the Collierville Police Department, police officer at the Rossville Police Department in Fayette County, and was a volunteer with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
Tuck faces several felony charges which include three counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual battery, two counts of aggravated rape, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and vandalism.
The defendant allegedly entered from the rear of the home on Raven Street. He then came in contact with three victims inside of the residence, producing a small black semi-automatic handgun, he then raped one of the victims, and threatened the others with the weapon.
According to Weakley and Shelby County authorities, Tuck is a suspect in two home invasions in Shelby County, and two attacks in Martin, Tenn. this summer.
The victims of the attacks described the perpetrator as having a large belly, brandishing a hand gun, and wearing a mask.
If convicted of aggravated rape, that charge alone carries a prison sentence of 15 to 60 years.
Tuck was bound over to the 2010 term of the Weakley County Grand Jury. The jury is scheduled to hand down indictments Jan. 4, 2010, if indicted, Tuck will appear in court Jan. 11.
He is currently held without bond in the Weakley County Detention Center in Dresden, Tenn.
