CORONA, Calif. – A mother and her two daughters are still recovering after they say a man broke into their Southern California home, took off all his clothes, and tried to use a hammer to smash through a wall to reach the room where they had barricaded themselves.
Police arrested 43-year-old Jason Nelson, a neighbor, after he allegedly broke into the home in the 800 block of Mandevilla Way in Corona around 5 a.m. Saturday.
Rachel Bollin said she was home with her two daughters, while her husband was away on business, when she heard a loud smash and thought her dogs were getting into trouble.
Then she heard a man's voice say, "Call 911. I'm in your home."
He used a child's scooter to break a rear sliding glass door, Bollin said, then went to the garage, removed all his clothes, and got a hammer before making his way up the stairs to the bedrooms.
At that point, Bollin said she called 911 as she barricaded herself and her twin daughters in a bedroom across from the master bedroom.
She said her terrified girls were hiding under blankets while the naked intruder pounded on the bedroom door.
Through all this, Bollin said she was screaming out the window for help, speaking to the 911 dispatcher on the phone, and trying to protect her children at the same time.
The man then moved to the master closet and began smashing through a wall with the hammer, almost breaking through to the adjoining room to reach Bollin and her daughters.
Thankfully, police arrived within minutes and arrested the intruder.
"In my mind, his intention was to at least kill me," Bollin said. "And then, why are you naked? What is your intention? And now you're busting into a child's room."
However, much to Bollin's shock and anger, she said, he was released on bail four hours later.
"I always felt like in California that we really cared about people and that we were trying to create fair laws, but this is very, very unfair because he has more rights than my children. So forgive me, but at some point you have to say, there were minors in a room (and) he was naked and trying to break into (it), with a hammer."
Corona Police Sgt. Chad Fountain said Nelson was booked on suspicion of residential burglary and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Bollin said the family is also considering civil action against him. She said they have taken out a restraining order and are appealing to state lawmakers for more information on the case.
The investigation is ongoing.
