Exclusive: Rancho Cucamonga Mom Fights Off Home Intruder
RANCHO CUCAMONGA (CBSLA) - A Rancho Cucamonga mom sprung right into action when a stranger wandered into a garage where her young children were playing.
Police arrested the man who's accused of being on a controlled substance and more charges could still be coming. KCAL9's Nicole Comstock spoke exclusively with the mom who risked her own life to save her kids.
The mother and her five and six year old daughters were enjoying a cool fall night at a friends house - but it quickly turned into every parents worst nightmare.
As soon as one of her daughters started walking towards the front of the garage, a stranger made a full speed sprint in her direction.
"I thought he was gonna take my girls. I also had my one year old in the background in a high chair," said the mom.
The children's mother asked to not be identified because she's afraid for her family and would do anything to protect them, something she proved when she went from zero to mama bear mode in about half a second.
"I seen him coming into the driveway and my first instinct was just to block him to give my kids enough time to get away," she said.
She shoved the intruder to the ground and held him by the neck until her husband and a family friend arrived and handled it from there.
"That's when my family friend came in and tackled him to the ground," said the mother. "[It was] just enough time to get my one year old son in."
She says her husband and friend were driving around looking for the man in the neighborhood because he showed up on the property a few minutes earlier before running away when asked what he needed. When he returned he sprinted straight towards their garage right where the girls were playing.
Rancho Cucamonga police say they do not know what the suspect's intentions were, but identified him as 31-year-old Rasmuss Peter Rasmussen, who was found still inside the resident's garage when deputies arrived. Rasmussen was so incoherent that he didn't know where he was was and couldn't answer their questions.
They arrested him and charged him with being under the influence of a controlled substance. They said they are recommending an additional trespassing charge to the district attorney, but say the initial charge was a misdemeanor, so Rasmussen was cited and released.
"I don't think that's enough," said the mother. "I think he should go to jail and stay in jail."
But if he comes back again, she says she knows now that she has what it takes to stop him.
"If my kids are involved, I'm willing to do anything."