Caught on Camera: Half-Clothed Woman Rushes to Roof to Escape Intruder
The Venice woman was sleeping at the time of the break-in before she fled to the home’s rooftop
Video taken in Venice shows the terrifying moments for a woman who rushed to the roof of her home during a break-in with the intruder nearby. Gadi Schwartz reports from Venice for the NBC4 News at 11 on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014.
A woman climbed to the roof of her home Wednesday to hide from a man who broke into her Venice residence as she was sleeping.
Los Angeles Police responded to reports of a burglar on the roof on the 200 block of Windward Avenue. Officers had their guns drawn during what turned out to be a confusing scene in the neighborhood north of Venice Boulevard.
The woman was half-clothed and curled up on the roof behind a window unit that extended from the rooftop. According to witnesses, some onlookers and police were unsure whether or not she was the burglar, as the woman refused to come down from the roof despite police demands.
“She’s up on the roof. I don’t know what to think,” a witness told NBC4.
An onlooker who was snapping photos as the scene unfolded told NBC4 that as she was photographing the woman who was on the phone on the roof, a “scary” figure popped up on the other side of the roof.
Upon seeing the man, police and onlookers realize the woman on the roof is the victim who is hiding.
“I look and I see my neighbor, my friend up on the roof cowering,” neighbor Josh Romano said.
A police officer used a fire ladder to rescue the woman.
Police said that the woman did everything right by calling the cops and trying her best to escape.
The suspect was detained and led away in handcuffs around 7:15 a.m. According to Romano, he had seen the same man in handcuffs an hour prior to this incident.
Woman Evades Mentally Ill Home Intruder By Hiding Half-Naked On Roof
“He managed to break one of these panels and reach in to unlock the door,” Rivera said. “Once I saw him in the house, I knew that we both couldn’t be there. I knew that I didn’t want to have a confrontation with him of any sort, you know, not knowing what his intention was.”
Rivera, who says she was in bed at the time of the intrusion, was wearing only a flannel shirt.
As she made her way to the roof, with Hicks reportedly pursuing her, Rivera was able to grab her phone and call 911.
She hid under an eave as she spoke with the dispatcher.
“The drop is, I would guess, more than 20 feet,” Rivera said. “So there was no safely jumping off the roof or coming down from the roof at that point.”
Officers soon surrounded the house.
“It was my biggest fear was that he was going to be forced by the cops to come hide in basically the same place I was hiding,” Rivera said.
Bystander Alexandria Thompson saw what was occurring and captured pictures of the event, posting them to her Twitter.
Police said that officers were able to get to Rivera less than two minutes after they had been dispatched.
The fire department, too, responded on scene, and helped Rivera down off the roof, as police worked to get Hicks to surrender.
Through the pictures posted to social media, residents were able to identify Hicks as a well-known homeless person.
It turns out one of Rivera’s neighbors had called police on Hicks at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday for wandering into a yard.
“I saw this guy this morning in handcuffs,” Thompson said. “I’ve seen him in my yard. I called the police.”
Officers had detained Hicks, but were required to let him go since the caller refused to identify him in person.
Meanwhile, Rivera says the overall problem of homelessness needs to be identified and addressed.
“I think it’s very obvious for most of us who live around here, when someone seems to be suffering from a mental illness, and to continue to let these people walk around without offering them assistance, to protect them and us. That, I think, is the heart of the problem.”
Hicks’ bail has been set at $50,000 and he has been charged with burglary.
