Stranger breaks into home in attempt to rape Lodi woman

Police arrive in time to see, stop assault

A 23-year-old Lodi man was arrested Tuesday night after he allegedly kicked in a woman's South Washington Street home and tried to rape her in front of her nearby 4-month-old baby.

Victor Vazquez

Lodi police officers arrived as Victor Hugo Vazquez was tearing off the woman's clothes and was about to assault her, Officer Dale Eubanks said.

The 20-year-old woman, whom police did not identify, told officers that she may have seen Vazquez in the neighborhood but did not know him and had not spoken to him.

Assaults by strangers are not common in Lodi, Eubanks said, and it's even more rare that a victim is able to call police in time to prevent an attack.

"The officers at the scene said it's a good feeling, knowing they probably prevented something much more severe," he said.

The woman was medically checked at the hospital, and police also had Vazquez checked because they tackled him when he tried to run. The infant was not harmed.

The woman had been sitting on her porch in the 300 block of South Washington Street shortly before 10 p.m. when Vazquez approached and asked for a cigarette, police said. She said she didn't have a cigarette and when the man didn't leave, she called her husband.

The woman's husband told her to go inside and lock the doors but as she moved inside, Vazquez jumped over the fence, police said. The woman managed to lock the door, and also closed the windows and back door just before Vazquez also tried to open them, Eubanks said.

The woman called police as Vazquez allegedly kicked in the front door, threw her over his shoulder and took her to a bedroom. Officers arrived, looked in a window and saw the woman being assaulted.

When the woman saw the officers, she managed to escape Vazquez, who then chased her and tried to stop her, Eubanks said. Vazquez saw the officers and tried to run back through the house, but they tacked him.

Police later learned that Vazquez, who listed an address in the 800 block of South Cherokee Lane, had illegally entered the country from Mexico. He could be subject to deportation in addition to possible charges of assault with intent to commit rape, residential burglary and false imprisonment, Eubanks said.

Lodi police have had previous contact with Vazquez, but he has no history of sexual crimes, Eubanks said.

Vazquez is jailed without bail and is expected to be arraigned in court this week.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

First published: Thursday, May 11, 2006