Chelsea police followed footprints in newly fallen snow to find a man wanted for raping an Everett woman early this morning, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Juan Amaro, 25, of Chelsea, was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail this morning on charges of rape, kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, and intimidation of a witness. Amaro pleaded innocent in Chelsea District Court.

In a statement, the DA's office outlined what police say happened around 3:30 this morning at Chestnut and Fifth streets:

The woman said she had been walking from a friend's house to Bellingham Square when Amaro began following her on Washington Avenue:

The man followed her to Heard Street, where he allegedly produced a kitchen knife and forced her toward the railroad tracks, telling her, "I also have a gun."

Once in a secluded area beneath a nearby bridge, Amaro allegedly raped the woman. The victim told officers that each time she tried to scream for help, he choked her. When he finished, the woman said, he also tried to take her jacket, which she clung to.

"Don't try to get up," Amaro allegedly told the woman before running away. "I have people watching you."

However, when he fled, she called police:

In the otherwise undisturbed snow, officers in marked Chelsea Police cruisers soon spotted a set of fresh footprints leading from Cherry Street into an alleyway. A moment later, one officer spotted Amaro – dressed in the beige pants described by the victim but without the grey hooded sweatshirt she had seen – as he stuck his head out from behind a corner.

"I did it," Amaro allegedly said as he was being taken into custody.