Holly MatkinChapel Hill, NC – A North Carolina woman fought off a knife-wielding home intruder on Tuesday, causing her attacker to drop evidence that enabled investigators to identify and arrest him.
The incident occurred at a residence on Longwood Drive at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, WNCN reported.
The female homeowner later told investigators a man with a knife broke into her house and tried to grab her, according to WRAL.
The suspect, who was wearing a bandana over the lower portion of his face, allegedly punched her in the jaw and stomach.
That’s when the victim went on the fight.
“The resident of the home, when attacked, fought back, and she fought back hard,” Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood confirmed in a press release, according to WNCN.
She ended up tearing the knife-wielding attacker’s shirt during the brawl and caused him to drop his cell phone, WRAL reported.
She then ran across the road to a neighbor’s home to call 911, Sheriff Blackwood said.
The suspect fled the scene, but investigators used his dropped phone to track him down and take him into custody, WRAL reported.
He has been identified as 40-year-old Jose Daniel Martinez-Ortiz.
Sheriff Blackwood said deputies believe the attack was random, WRAL reported.
He said the victim was the one who ended the assault and made sure investigators could find the person responsible.
“The resident did what I would hope to be able to do, and that’s they thwarted the attack and they fought back,” Sheriff Blackwood told WRAL.
Martinez-Ortiz has been charged with breaking and entering, assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping and two counts of assault on a female, WRAL reported.
