A Cobb County mother was startled Monday when a man walked into her home and asked for help.
Five minutes after she let him hide in her daughter’s bedroom, a police officer knocked on her door — with two dozen officers standing behind him.
That’s when she learned the man was a fugitive in two counties and was running away from police when he came upon her home, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The wanted man, identified by Channel 2 Action News as Erick Tapia-Algeria, allegedly ran away from a traffic stop that damaged an officer’s car, Channel 2 reported. He’s also allegedly wanted on aggravated assault, burglary and cruelty to children charges out of Gwinnett County.
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Officers told the mother, who asked the news station not to identify her, to quickly get out of the home as authorities set up a perimeter around her house off Highland Avenue near Smyrna.
“I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was going to throw up,” she said. “All I could do was watch all of these guns go in circles around my home.”
She said she was painting when the man walked through her door, which she had left unlocked. She said he told her someone was trying to hurt him, which is when she locked the front door and tried to help him.
“I took him into my daughter’s bedroom, and I told him to close the door because I was going to find out who the hell was at my front door,” she told Channel 2.
The fugitive allegedly tried to escape through two windows, but police arrested him inside the house after about 15 minutes, the news station reported.
“I was hiding in the hedges across the street,” the woman, who was not hurt, said. “I am not ashamed to say it. I was scared out of my mind.”
Tapia-Algeria faces several charges, including obstruction and criminal trespass, according to Channel 2.
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