Irondale rape suspect caught after I-20 manhunt charged in 2020 sexual torture

Irondale rape suspect caught after I-20 manhunt charged in 2020 sexual torture

A rape suspect who eluded authorities for nearly a week and sparked a manhunt along I-20 in Irondale is charged with sexual torture in an unrelated attack two years ago.

Navaeh-Ojore Timonthy-Carl Payton, 21, surrendered to the Jefferson County Tuesday on charges of first-degree rape and third-degree burglary filed by Irondale police in connection with last week’s incident.

Court records made public Wednesday show the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has charged Payton with sexual torture/abuse, first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy.

The sexual torture incident happened on April 29, 2020.

The charging document states the suspect raped the woman with an inanimate object by forcible compulsion with intent to sexually torture or sexually abuse her.

The new warrants were issued Nov. 1.

Additional information on the 2020 cases wasn’t immediately available.

The Irondale investigation began one week ago, Wednesday Oct. 26, when Irondale police received a call from a woman who said she was assaulted in the 1800 block of Crestwood Boulevard.

She was able to give authorities a description of her assailant and a description of his vehicle.

Investigators, through various resources, identified the suspect as Payton.

Then, about 3 p.m., a patrol officer made a traffic stop on the suspect’s vehicle on Grants Mill Road the Interstate 20 east entrance ramp.

The suspect bailed from the pickup truck and ran into the wooded area just off the interstate.

SWAT teams from Irondale and Birmingham police, a tracking dog from the Trussville Police Department, and Star 1 helicopter aided in the search.

At 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, Irondale officers were dispatched to a burglary at a convenience store in the 3300 block of Crestwood Boulevard. Officers arrived and found forced entry into the store.

In another unrelated case, Payton was arrested earlier this year after Homewood police said he shot at another man inside Walmart.

Payton, who was living in Vestavia Hills at the time, was charged with attempted murder, attempting to elude and disorderly conduct in connection with incident.

That incident happened about 12:30 p.m. that Monday at the Lakeshore Parkway store. No one was injured.

The adult male victim, who was from Georgia, was at the store with his family, including two children. He was openly carrying a weapon that was in a holster, which is legal in the state of Alabama.

Another man approached the victim and had words with him. As the victim started to walk away, police said, Payton pulled his handgun and fired one shot, police said.

Payton’s bonds on the Irondale and Jefferson County sexual assault charges now total more than $4 million.