TACOMA, Wash. — A man broke into an 81-year-old woman’s Tacoma apartment and threatened to rape her at knifepoint before stealing her wallet and fleeing, court documents state.
He was identified days later by an officer who recognized him from surveillance photos.
On Wednesday, Pierce County prosecutors charged the 27-year-old with two counts of attempted first-degree rape, first-degree burglary and attempted second-degree burglary.
Charging papers give this account:
The man and a friend drove up to an apartment complex in the 1700 block of South 82nd Street about 8 a.m. Sunday.
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He got out of the car, peeked in a bedroom window on the ground floor, then summoned to his friend to come look.
Surveillance footage from a business across the street showed the driver return to the car and the passenger disappear. He returned to the car 15 minutes later.
In that time, police say he broke into the woman’s apartment while she was sleeping. He allegedly put a hand over her mouth and a large kitchen knife to the side of her face.
“The defendant then ripped open her shirt exposing her breasts and said that he was going to rape her and would kill her if she screamed,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
He told the woman he’d been watching her for a week, then asked for money. He left after stealing her cell phone and wallet.
The woman ran for help to neighbors, who called 911.
Police were able to get fingerprints from the window and photographs of the men from a surveillance camera. Photos of the suspects were circulated among law enforcement officers in the area.
An officer recognized the man on the street two days later and took him into custody.
The man is also accused of trying to break into a marijuana store three hours before he broke into the 81-year-old woman’s apartment.
When he couldn’t open the store door, he allegedly threw a rock through a window before fleeing on foot. He returned an hours later and threw another rock through the window, records state.
The driver of the car has not been identified.
KIRO
