DNA evidence links man to rape of woman at her South Side apartment

A man accused of following a woman to her apartment, forcing his way into her home and raping her in May pleaded not guilty Friday to felony rape and burglary charges.

Investigators used DNA evidence and surveillance footage to link David Glenn Chandler to the crimes, charging documents say.

Chandler, 29, appeared in Yellowstone County District Court by video from jail Friday morning and denied the charges before Judge Ingrid Gustafson, who set his bond at $70,000 and ordered him to pay for and wear a GPS monitor if he bails out of custody.

Billings police started investigating the case on May 24, when a woman at Billings Clinic reported she had been sexually assaulted by a stranger, records say.

The woman reported that she had gone to a convenience store on South 27th Street and then gone back to her apartment. She reported that a man, later identified as Chandler, followed her to the apartment complex.

While they were in the elevator, he groped her, she said. She told him to stop. When she got off the elevator and went to her apartment, he followed her and forced his way into her apartment, she said.

Inside the apartment, he raped her, stole cash and cigarettes and then left, charging documents say.

The woman told police that she didnt know the man, but thought that his name was David.

The woman completed a sexual assault examination, from which samples were sent to the Montana State Crime Lab. Police also obtained video surveillance from both the convenience store and the womans apartment complex. Using that footage, they were able to identify Chandler.

When interviewed, he insisted that he didnt rape the woman and that no DNA evidence would be found linking him to the rape, court documents say.

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DNA evidence links man to rape of woman at her South Side apartment