Rohnert Park Teen Girl Home Alone Menaced By Knife-Wielding Intruder
ROHNERT PARK (CBS SF) -- Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety officers arrested a juvenile suspected of breaking into a home Wednesday and holding another teen at knifepoint.
At about 7 p.m., public safety officials received a 911 call from a 17-year-old girl who lives on Meadow Pines Avenue. The girl, who was home alone, reported that someone was trying to break into her house, public safety officials said.
When her doorbell rang, she refused to answer the door because she did not recognize the male suspect, who then began walking around the outside of the house, public safety officials said.
The girl locked herself in an upstairs bathroom and told a dispatcher that she heard the suspect enter the house and walking around downstairs.
Out of fear of being found, the girl did not talk and instead pressed buttons on the phone to communicate with the dispatcher as officers were responding, public safety officials said.
Three minutes after the initial 911 call was received, the girl pressed a button on the phone to indicate to the dispatcher that the suspect was upstairs. That's when the girl stopped responding and the dispatcher heard her crying and then scream. The phone was then disconnected, public safety officials said.
According to public safety officials, that's when the suspect kicked open the bathroom door and pulled a large hunting knife on the girl. He allegedly cornered her at knifepoint and took her phone when she told him she had called the police.
Officers surrounded and entered the house and the suspect allegedly tried to run. He was taken into custody and identified as a 17-year-old Rohnert Park resident who did not know the victim.
Officers determined that the suspect used a ladder to enter the house and climb in through an open window after removing the screen. He was carrying a backpack that had items from the home, public safety officials said.
The victim was not injured, although she was shaken.
The suspect was booked into Sonoma County Juvenile Hall on
suspicion of home invasion, robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and possessing stolen property.
The name of the suspect is not being released because he is a minor.
