Man Behind Bars for Alleged Break-In, Attempted Sexual Assault

PALM SPRINGS (CNS) – A 33-year-old man suspected of breaking into a woman’s apartment in Palm Springs to sexually assault her was behind bars Monday. Fernando Javier Hernandez of Coachella was arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of home invasion, attempted rape and sexual battery, according to the Palm Springs Police Department. Police said the woman called shortly before 4:20 a.m. Sunday to report that a man broke into her apartment in the 700 block of Los Felices Circle and tried to sexually assault her. She said the man entered her apartment through an open window and attempted to assault her while she was asleep, according to police. "(She) was able to fight off the suspect, who returned and broke in through a closed window," Palm Springs police said in a statement. `The victim was again able to fight off the suspect, who then ran away. Hernandez was identified as the suspect and was tracked down shortly after, according to police. He was arrested around 6 a.m. near North Palm Canyon Drive, according to inmate records. Hernandez was subsequently booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where he remains held on $55,000. Anyone with additional information on the break-in or the suspect was asked to call the police department’s Investigations Division at 760-323-8121 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 760-347-7867. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.