Neighbors Alarmed After Woman Attacked In Galt Park; 'Don't Mess With Galt'
GALT (CBS13) — A Good Samaritan helped save a woman who was attacked at Lake Canyon Park in Galt Monday.
"It was wild," said a man who only wanted to be known as Dave. He recalled the scary situation that played out at a Galt park. "I was just working from home and I heard a lady screaming bloody murder."
He ran outside to see a man punching 25-year-old Manuel Avila. Police say Avila attacked a woman at the park and grabbed her chest area inappropriately. That's when the other man, who happened to be nearby, intervened.
"I think he's a hero because some people wouldn't step in to save someone like that. The lady, if the guy hadn't have been there, the lady was by herself with her daughter, who knows what would have happened," Dave said.
Dave says the man kept Avila subdued until police arrived.
"He had a screwdriver in his pocket during the altercation and I talked with the guy and he said he kept reaching in his pocket and that's why he kept striking him to get him down on the ground," he said.
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Neighbors are alarmed that such an attack would happen in broad daylight.
"We never had to worry about anything like that," said Leslie Norris. "There's been more development around here that I'm seeing more things that I'm not used to seeing."
Police say Avila is a transient. Neighbors are alarmed about the number of homeless in the area and are now considering a neighborhood watch.
"It's sad, but don't mess with Galt. If you're looking to start trouble this is a bad town to come to," said Dave.
Avila has been arrested and booked into Sacramento County Jail. He's facing charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment and possession of drug paraphernalia.
