According to court filings, during a violent late-night break-in at her family’s house, an 8-year-old Colorado girl resisted an intruder in a clown mask who attempted to kidnap her.
According to authorities in Sterling, northeast of Denver, Thomas Gallegos, 56, the victim’s neighbor, was taken into custody on suspicion of attempted kidnapping, assault, child abuse, and burglary on Saturday.
The arrest affidavit, stated that Gallegos had assisted the girl’s family in installing a washer and dryer two days prior.
Authorities responded to the child’s house at roughly 2:30 a.m., according to the affidavit, which does not specify a potential motive. On October 15, it was discovered that the man, who was supposedly Gallegos, had gone into the girl’s room about an hour earlier and had blindfolded her.
According to the complaint, Gallegos hit the girl in the head after she woke up and resisted, rendering her unconscious. According to the paper, the attacker ran away, and when the girl regained consciousness, she informed her mother.
According to the affidavit, the woman suffered a laceration to the back of her skull that needed staples and a contusion to her right eye. According to the paper, a clown mask and gloves were discovered in the girl’s room.
Security footage and location information on the girl’s phone, which the attacker stole, were used by investigators to identify Gallegos as a suspect, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Gallegos stated in a police interview that he was in Denver when the break-in occurred.
According to the document, “We explained that we just wanted the truth, Thomas said that he was done talking.” Investigators then served the suspect with a court order requesting his cellphone and DNA.
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Whether Gallegos has a lawyer to represent him is unclear.
According to the affidavit, Gallegos’ wife told detectives in an interview that her husband disputed the accusations. But according to the report, she verified that her husband was the individual shown on security footage taken in an alley close to the victim’s house at the time of the break-in.
According to the affidavit, Gallegos’ wife claimed that the clown mask the man was carrying in the photo belonged to their grandson and that he was dressed in dark clothing.
