James Biela, a suspect in the Brianna Denison kidnapping and murder, has been arraigned and is in custody without bail, Washoe County law enforcement agencies announced Wednesday at a press conference.

The arrest gives local law enforcement agencies a new direction to investigate in the sexual assault and abduction of the 19-year-old woman who was last seen in January and whose body was found near Sand Hill Drive in south Reno.

Through a DNA analysis, Reno Police Chief Michael Poehlman said Wednesday that Biela, a 27-year-old Wingfield Springs resident, also has been charged with first degree kidnapping and sexual assault of a University of Nevada, Reno student in a Dec. 16, 2007, incident that occurred at 1425 N. Virginia St.

A Secret Witness tip submitted to the police on Nov. 1 led authorities to keep Biela under surveillance Tuesday and took him into custody on the 1300 block of Corporate Boulevard in Reno, Poehlman said. The tip, Poehlman said, came from a friend of Biela's girlfriend, with whom he has a child.

"That Secret Witness information indicated Biela's activities and behaviors made him a likely suspect," Poehlman said.

Police obtained a seizure order to get a DNA reference sample from Biela's 4-year-old son.

Denison's murder resulted in the Reno Police Department and other agencies receiving more than 2,200 tips.

District Attorney Dick Gammick said at the press conference Wednesday that he and Elliott Sattler, who has been designated as chief prosecutor in these case, will work together to bring about the maximum sentence for the case, in which the death penalty may be a possibility for first-degree murder.

"I kept telling you that he will be caught and because of my undying faith in the people we have in this community and the organizations and associations and the link we have between federal, state and local agencies...I knew this day would come," Gammick said.

Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley expressed sympathy for Denison and her family.

"No one should have to suffer as Brianna Denison suffered," Haley said. "No family should have to endure the longterm consequences of that suffering."