A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of forcing his way into a woman’s San Mateo apartment early Friday, police said.
At around 2:26 a.m., San Mateo police officers were dispatched to the 200 block of East 3rd Avenue on a report of a suspect breaking into an apartment, and on their way they learned the suspect had fled her home.
Police learned the suspect, identified as San Mateo resident Robert Najera, pushed the victim’s locked door with enough force to break the doorframe and to damage the lock.
Najera told the woman, a stranger to him, that someone was chasing him. He asked if he could stay in her apartment, police said. She declined and told him to leave, which he refused to do until she called police.
Police canvassed the surrounding area and found Najera at the intersection of 5th Avenue and South B Street. After detaining him, the victim positively identified him and he was transported to San Mateo County Jail and booked for felony vandalism.
Photo from the crime scene courtesy of the San Mateo Police Department
