A California woman wearing only a flannel shirt had to climb out her bedroom window and onto the rooftop in a desperate attempt to escape a home intruder early Wednesday.
Melora Rivera was in bed when she heard a commotion. Christian Hicks, 29, who neighbors said is homeless, allegedly broke the panel of Rivera's glass front door to get inside, according to reports. Rivera called police and then scrambled out the window of her two-story bungalow, which is just blocks from Venice Beach.
'Once I saw him in the house I knew we both couldn't be there,' Rivera told CBS Los Angeles. 'I knew I didn't want to have a confrontation with him of any sort not knowing what his intention was.'
@venice311
When LAPD officers arrived two minutes after they were dispatched they found Rivera on her phone cowering under a rooftop overhang. Unaware that Hicks was also on the roof at that point, police ordered Rivera to come down, Venice 311 reported.
Photos taken at the scene show a frightened Rivera sitting by her window as Hicks menacingly peered over the rooftop peak, apparently unaware of where Rivera was hiding.
CBS
Firefighters arrived with a ladder and an officer, with his gun drawn, climbed onto the rooftop to cover her escape.
Hicks was arrested and held on $50,000 bail. He has a court appearance Friday.
Cops reportedly detained Hicks earlier in the day following a 7:30 a.m. complaint of a man in a residential yard, but did not arrest him then.
'I saw this guy this morning in handcuffs,' neighbor Alexandria Thompson told CBS. 'I've seen him in my yard. I called the police.'
jmolinet@nydailynews.com
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.
Entities 0 Name: Rivera Count: 7 1 Name: Hicks Count: 4 2 Name: Venice Count: 1 3 Name: CBS Los Angeles Count: 1 4 Name: Alexandria Thompson Count: 1 5 Name: Venice Beach Count: 1 6 Name: Melora Rivera Count: 1 7 Name: CBS Count: 1 8 Name: California Count: 1 9 Name: CBS Firefighters Count: 1 10 Name: Christian Hicks Count: 1 11 Name: LAPD Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1n43vo1 Title: Photos show home intruder following woman onto roof while police watch Description: Melora Rivera was home alone when she heard someone kicking down the door to her Venice, California, home, according to Los Angeles police. Los Angeles (CNN) -- When Melora Rivera heard an intruder kicking the front door of her Venice, California, home Wednesday morning, her reaction was to jump out of bed and onto her roof.
