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Police: Man Entered Davis Woman's Apartment, Tried To Sexually Assault Her

DAVIS (CBS13) – A man is being sought for allegedly making entry into a woman's apartment Thursday morning and trying to sexually assault her, the Davis Police Department said.

"It's just scary to think you're not even safe in your own home," resident Anu Pritgill said.

Davis residents like Anu Pritgill are double-checking their surroundings after hearing one of their neighbors at the Octave Apartments had to fight off an intruder. Alyssa Catap spotted the suspect moments before the attack.

"Thirty seconds later I heard her screaming 'somebody help'. She screamed it like three times," Catap said.

The UC Davis student rushed to help, but the man already ran away.

"I just think it's crazy because it was at 10 a.m. in literally broad daylight. You can never really be safe," said Catap.

Davis police said the woman reported that a man was at her rear sliding door asking for water. She went into her bedroom to grab a face mask and walked back out of the room to find the suspect had entered her apartment.

"She was confused at first and she went to go get her mask and glasses and by the time she came out of her room, he was already inside," explained Catap.

The suspect allegedly attempted to pull the woman back into the bedroom, but she was able to scream and push him out of her apartment forcing him to run away, authorities said.

"I think she is really brave. If I saw something like that, I don't even know what I would do," Catap said.

Davis police described the suspect as an African American man in his 40s standing about 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing around 170 pounds. He has no facial hair and was wearing a black head covering, a black sweatshirt and carrying a maroon water bottle.

"These stranger encounters are very rare and we just don't know what the victim profile is going to be or who the next victim is going to be, and we are a town of a lot of students," said Davis Deputy Chief Paul Doroshov.

The scene was at an apartment complex along Drew Circle.

"It's Davis the scariest thing you hear about is bike theft. Hearing something like that happened in your apartment complex, you know definitely going to be on the lookout," said Pritigill.

Anyone who may information that could lead to locating and identifying the suspect is urged to contact the Davis police department.

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