A July 23 home invasion and aggravated assault left a Lakeland woman with scratches on an inner thigh where the man menaced her with a long-bladed knife.
The woman and a cousin were guests in a family member’s home on the 4200 block of Loch Mead Drive. The cousin got into the shower around 4:40 p.m., and the victim opened the back door, let the dog into the yard and went into the kitchen.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s report said she heard the back door open, and she turned to see an unknown black man standing in the house.
She screamed, “Oh, my God,” and the man pushed her down. She fell, striking her back against the oven.
She saw the knife in his left hand, and she kicked his leg, knocking him to the floor. He recovered and began running the blade against her right inner thigh.
He said, “I’ll be back,” and left through the back door.
She ran to the back bedroom to get her cousin, who didn’t observe any of the incident.
The victim said the man was about six feet one inch tall, weighing about 200 pounds and appeared to be about 30-33 years old with low-cut black hair, no visible marks or tattoos, no facial hair and no jewelry. He wore a long-sleeved black sweat shirt, blue jeans, and a black do rag on his head, and he carried a black draw-stringed bag on one arm.
The responding officer observed six small scratches to the victim’s right inner thigh.
In cases like this, officers routinely ask if the homeowner or guests had any workers in the home recently, and the homeowner said he had a pest control company at the home at 10:45 a.m. on June 21. He provided the company’s name to the officers.
RELATED: See all July 2014 Lakeland incidents handled by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
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