A man has been arrested after breaking and entering into women’s homes and rubbing their feet while they slept in a series of disturbing events that escalated in nature, police say.
The incidents began last month on consecutive nights from July 1 to July 3 when the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada received reports of an adult male who entered two Stateline resort condominiums by opening unlocked screen doors of homes and then positioning himself at the foot of women’s beds when he would begin rubbing their feet while they slept, according to a statement posted on social media by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.
MORE: Wild otter attack leads to woman being airlifted to hospital, 2 others treated for injuries“Each female awoke from their sleep as the subject was rubbing their feet,” authorities said. “Once awake the females confronted the male subject and he fled the scene.”
Officials from Douglas County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the disturbing encounters and, using forensic techniques, police were able to identify the suspect involved as 26-year-old Mark Anthony Gonzales from Atwater, California, according to authorities.
MORE: 'Horrific' early morning attack by 4 large dogs leaves man in his 70s dead in middle of the road“DCSO Investigators learned Gonzales was known to local law enforcement in the Atwater/Merced County, California area and was the suspect of numerous crimes, including the theft of women’s shoes, trespassing … and it appeared to DCSO Investigators that Gonzales’ crimes were escalating in nature,” said the DCSO.
Investigators from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, along with assistance from Merced County Sheriff’s Office Detectives, arrested Gonzales at his residence on Tuesday.
MORE: Body of hiker missing for 37 years discovered in melting glacier“I am extremely pleased that my Investigators were able to identify, locate, and arrest this individual,” said Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley. “These types of crimes are especially alarming to a community, and being able to make an arrest allows the victims and community to feel safe again.”
Gonzalez was booked into the Merced County Jail for two counts of Burglary and two counts of Battery, DCSO said. Gonzales will now be held in the Merced County Jail on a fugitive warrant with a bail of $50,000 until he is extradited back to Douglas County, Nevada, to face charges.