Salida man arrested after allegedly following woman for days before breaking into family’s home
SALIDA, Colo. (KRDO) – A Salida man is facing charges for burglary and stalking after telling detectives he stalked a woman for days before breaking into her family's home, the Salida Police Department (SPD) said.
According to Salida police, in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, officers were dispatched to a Salida residence after receiving a report that a man had trespassed inside a family's home, where a man and woman lived with their infant child.
The couple told police they had been sleeping when they were awakened by an unknown man inside the house, who appeared to be rummaging through their belongings. The woman reported that she had seen the man staring at her when she woke up, SPD said.
The man who lived at the home then confronted the stranger, and a physical fight occurred before he was able to force the stranger out of the home, police said.
The man reported that the stranger had not been wearing a shirt when he was thrown out of the home, and had gotten into a vehicle and fled before the couple called 911 to report the crime.
The couple told police that after the stranger left, they discovered some items were missing from their home.
They provided officers with a description of the suspect and his vehicle, but despite searching the area, police were not able to locate him or his car.
The department says over the next several days, detectives investigated possible leads before receiving a tip about a possible suspect, 51-year-old Juan Rodriquez-Velazquez.
When detectives spoke to Rodriquez-Velazquez, he admitted to being the person who broke into the home, police said.
According to Salida police, Rodriquez-Velazquez told them that he had seen the woman who lives in the home days before and had thought she was attractive. He admitted to following the woman home days before the incident to learn where she lived, and returning on Aug. 3 with the intent to have sex with her.
He reportedly said he did not know that a man also lived at the home before he broke in.
Salida police said the man and woman positively identified Rodriquez-Velazquez as the stranger who had entered their home, and were also able to positively identify the suspect's vehicle.
Police say Rodriquez-Velazquez was arrested without incident on Aug. 8 for second-degree burglary and stalking and taken to the Chaffee County Detention Center, where he is being held on a $25,00 bond.
"The arrest in this case was made possible, in part, due to the hard work of the officers and detectives with the Salida Police Department, as well as the courage of the victims, who were willing to cooperate and work with the police through a very frightening situation," the Salida Police Department said in a press release.
Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.
