TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg man was arrested on Halloween after trying to strangle a woman while she slept, Pinellas County deputies said.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said at around 3:27 a.m. Monday, Javier Tellez-Reyes, 24, broke into a home on 52nd Avenue North.
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Deputies said while inside, Tellez-Reyes got on top of a sleeping woman and began choking her, but the victim managed to fight him off.
According to the sheriff’s office, the victim’s mother heard her screaming while she slept in another room.
The victim gave deputies security video that allegedly showed Tellez-Reyes pulling on the doors of her locked vehicle before breaking into the home. A neighbor positively identified the 24-year-old as the suspect, according to arrest documents.
Deputies took Tellez-Reyes into custody Monday afternoon on burglary charges. His jail record shows that he was arrested in April on charges of burglary and attempted sexual battery.