COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – Deputies say an elderly woman managed to fight off a 19-year-old who broke into her home and attempted to sexually assault her last week.
According to the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a home on Manly Smith Road in Nakina around 3:30 a.m. on May 22.
The 75-year-old victim told deputies she was awoken in the middle of the night by an intruder in her bedroom. The male suspect attempted to sexually assault her but she fought him off and reached for her phone to call 911, she said. The suspect managed to grab her phone and flee the home.
The victim was able to contact 911 after finding her medical alert device. She was not injured during the attack.
Later that day, investigators identified the suspect as Marcus Ryan Heimnick, 19, and arrested him on charges of first-degree burglary, two counts of attempted second-degree rape, common law robbery, and interfering with emergency communications.
He was booked in jail under a $515,000 bond.
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