A Bay Area man is suspected of breaking into a neighbor’s apartment over the weekend, waiting for a mother and daughter to return to the home, then attacking the pair in what authorities are calling a case of home invasion and sexual assault.
Fremont police said the attacker, who was quickly apprehended, was lying in wait for the women to return.
The suspect, identified as say 34-year-old Jamala Morris, lived in the same apartment complex as his victims, in the 41200 block of Paseo Padre Parkway, authorities said. Morris, a convicted felon already on probation, is facing home invasion, kidnapping and sexual assault charges.
“This is as scary as it gets,” Fremont Police Department spokesperson Geneva Bosques said. “This is that individual who we all fear.”
Police said Morris planned his attack, breaking into his neighbor’s unit shortly before midnight Saturday night. Since this attack was so planned out and methodical, police said they’re looking at past unsolved cases that may be similar and asking other law enforcement agencies to do the same.
Armed with a short barrel shotgun and wearing a full-face mask, police said Morris tied up and duct taped the younger woman in her bedroom first. Her mother then came in to see what all the commotion was and she, too, was tied up.
“The suspect then pushes the daughter aside and takes the mom and takes her to a different room in the residence,” Bosques said. “It’s in that room that he forcefully sexually assaults her.”
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Police believe Morris then turned his sights back the daughter, but was scared off when her brother came home and scared him away.
Video surveillance and witness interviews led detectives to Morris’s nearby apartment and took him into custody on Sunday, hours after the horrific home invasion.
“We found the mom’s wallet, and we found the gun and some of his clothing that he was wearing during the crime,” Bosques said.
A resident who didn’t want to give her name said she has encountered Morris before – she said he made her feel “uncomfortable” – and thinks he just moved in.
Residents told NBC Bay Area this is a normally quiet and safe complex. Management distributed notices to residents, reassuring them this was an isolated incident and that they’re adding security measures.
