Trial for ‘Starbucks Rapist’ starts May 5 in Edwardsville

DuBois (photo courtesy of the Madison County State’s Attorney’s office)

By Randy Pierce • Over two years after charges were filed against a man from Shobonier, which is in Fayette County in southern Illinois, concerning his alleged kidnapping and assault of a female that began in Collinsville and included a drive to Troy, a trial regarding this criminal action is under way in Madison County Circuit Court this week.

Timothy Dubois Jr., 42, has been charged with 10 counts of felony crimes including four for aggravated sexual assault, two for kidnapping and four for aggravated criminal sexual abuse, regarding an incident that occurred on or about November 11, 2022.

The office of Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine states, based on an extensive investigation that included detectives and law enforcement personnel in Collinsville, Troy and Fayette County plus the Illinois State Police and representatives of the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois, that Dubois used force or the threat of force to abduct a female who was then 21 years old, against her will, into a vehicle then, after traveling to Troy, engaged in various sexual acts with her the morning of the crimes.

Collinsville Police Department Sergeant Sam Luna, who received a certificate of merit award from the Southwestern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission and Southern Illinois Police Chiefs Association in January of 2024 for his diligent efforts leading to the charges against Dubois, determined that the suspect had approached the victim in the parking lot of a Starbucks coffee shop in the Collinsville Crossing complex, west of Illinois Route 157, then at knifepoint, forced her to drive to an area near Troy where the assaults occurred before returning to the location where the encounter originated.

Back in Collinsville, the victim was able to free herself and flee from the kidnapper but he could not be found until nearly four months later, following Luna’s usage of technological aids, cell phone data, genetic genealogy and other investigative tools which resulted in the suspect’s arrest, with Dubois offering a confession, according to information shared by the SILEC/SIPCA.

Regarding the upcoming trial, jury selection was set to take place on May 4, according to the Madison County State’s Attorney’s office, then opening statements were to be made on May 5 and additional proceedings to follow.