Jury convicts man of raping women at gunpoint

GRAND FORKS — A 12-member jury returned a guilty verdict on all eight felony counts Friday morning against man accused of raping two women at gunpoint.

Antonio Raheem Matthews was convicted in state district court in Grand Forks after the jury deliberated about 90 minutes.

“A lot of credit needs to be given to those young women,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Meredith Larson, referring to the victims who testified earlier this week.

They testified a man broke into their apartment in the north end of Grand Forks through the patio door about 1 a.m. Sept. 30. He threatened them with a handgun, stole their cell phones and several hundred dollars and raped them in turn.

Assistant State’s Attorney Jason McCarthy, who — along with Larson — specializes in prosecuting personal crimes, said in an earlier interview that this type of case is “extremely rare.”