Man accused of trying to drive teen off cliff near Lake Tahoe after sexually assaulting her
A 23-year-old Nevada man was arrested Tuesday on charges of attempted murder and sexual assault after trying to drive his car off a cliff near Lake Tahoe with a teenager in the passenger seat, according to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Alexander Difoggio-Wasson was driving the teenager — whom he is accused of sexually assaulting immediately before the crash — on State Route 431 near Sky Tavern Ski Resort in Reno on May 27 when he allegedly drove off the highway toward a cliff, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The car hit a boulder and tree, preventing it from going over the cliff, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Difoggio-Wasson attempted to flee the scene but was taken into custody after a brief altercation with deputies, the Sheriff’s Office said. The passenger was treated at a local hospital for her injuries.
Virginia cop Austin Lee Edwards spoke to Mychelle Blandin the day he killed her sister and parents, kidnapped her niece and burned down their Riverside home, Blandin told The Times in an interview.
Difoggio-Wasson was initially charged with fleeing the scene of an accident, obstructing and resisting arrest and battery with a deadly weapon. He was released May 31 on bail.
It wasn’t until deputies investigated further that they learned that he allegedly sexually assaulted the teen and deliberately attempted to drive off the cliff, the Sheriff’s Office said
In addition, deputies said they learned that Difoggio-Wasson had allegedly sexually assaulted another female victim in December 2022 in Incline Village, Nev., “in a manner consistent with the May 27, 2023, assault.†Incline Village lies just over the California border in Nevada.
He held the other victim captive in his Incline Village home for hours before she was finally freed, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Dharmesh Patel, 41, was arrested by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of attempted murder and child endangerment after the Jan. 2 crash, but prosecutors waited until after he was transferred out of the hospital to charge him.
He was arrested again on Tuesday and booked on two counts of sexual assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of attempted murder .
He is currently in custody of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.
Diffogio-Wasson is also a person of interest in a February date rape drug incident, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
