Man arrested after Sunday morning burglary, assault
Published 10:25 am Monday, March 14, 2016
A man is in custody after he allegedly broke into an apartment, assaulted the woman living there and stole her van early Sunday morning.
Austin Police Officers responded to the 1200 block of Fifth Avenue Northwest for a burglary and assault at 3:11 a.m., according to Police Chief Brian Krueger.
The woman said a man she knew came to the residence and kicked the door in and began hitting her on her left cheek and threatened to smash her TV in with a large ceramic plant stand. She said he had been drinking and he also smashed a side door, amounting to $300 in damages. The woman did not require medical treatment, Krueger said.
Her neighbor then came over to see what was going on and then he smashed the plant stand on the floor, took the keys to her 2000 Dodge Caravan and left.
She gave officers a list of possible locations for him. At 6 a.m. officers spotted the vehicle on the 800 block of Third Avenue Northwest.
The homeowner was contacted and said no one was supposed to be at the house because they were out of town. The homeowner had someone bring a key over and police officers were able to enter the home, where they found the suspect.
Police took him into custody and he is awaiting possible charges of felony first-degree burglary, felony motor vehicle theft, gross misdemeanor driving after cancellation, misdemeanor fifth-degree assault and misdemeanor criminal damage to property, according to Krueger.