PHOENIX – An ex-con accused of two sexual assaults linked to the Baseline Killer case that has terrorized the city is facing three more criminal counts.
Mark Goudeau, a 42-year-old construction worker, was charged earlier this week with 17 felony counts. Police haven't said specifically how he may be connected to the Baseline Killer case — a string of rapes, robberies and eight shooting deaths in the Phoenix area during the last year.
He has not been named a suspect in the deaths.
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On Thursday, authorities added a count of sexual abuse, a count of sexual assault and a charge of cocaine use or possession. The drug charge stems from Sept. 6, the day he was arrested, authorities said.
Goudeau previously admitted to being a recovering cocaine addict and blamed the drugs for a series of unrelated assaults that put him behind bars for 13 1/2 years.
"Adding more counts does not give this case any more credence," defense lawyer Corwin Townsend said. "Our client had nothing to do with this. He's not guilty."
The case derives its name from the location of the earliest crimes, Phoenix's Baseline Road. Investigators have said they connected the crimes based on forensic evidence and similarities in the way they were committed.
Authorities charged Goudeau in the Sept. 20 sexual attacks on two sisters. The attacks were among the 23 incidents blamed on the Baseline Killer.
The case is the second serial killer investigation in Phoenix during the past year. Police have arrested two men in the other, dubbed the Serial Shooter investigation.
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