HAYWARD — A 23-year-old man is facing two felony charges for allegedly breaking into a woman’s home and surprising her in the middle of the night, in what police are calling a rape attempt only thwarted by the victim’s ability to fight back.
The suspect, Darwin Perez-Jeromimo, is facing charges of sexual assault and residential burglary, both felonies, and remains in Santa Rita Jail with bail set at $150,000, court records show. When police interviewed the victim, she told them that her front door had been unlocked earlier in the day and that she believed that’s when Perez-Jeromimo entered her home and waited for her to be in a vulnerable spot.
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Police found empty bottles of alcohol inside the home, a possible indication that he waited inside for some time, because the woman told police she’s not a drinker, according to court records. They say that when Perez-Jeromimo jumped on top of the woman as she slept in her bed — sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. on May 4 — he was wearing nothing except a condom.
Despite being startled awake, the woman was able to fight back. She wrestled Perez-Jeromimo, who is 5-feet 5-inches tall and weighs 160 pounds, to the ground and called police, authorities said. During the struggle, he allegedly bit down on her finger, but she was undeterred.
By the time officers got to the home, they say Perez-Jeromimo was unable to move on his own and needed to be examined by paramedics. When they cleared him, he was transported to jail.
Perez-Jeromimo is next due in court on May 28 to enter a plea, court records show. He will appear in Department 702 in the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.