The San Diego Police Department released footage from the weekend rescue of a Tierrasanta woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted and taken hostage at gunpoint by a man who broke into her home.
Warning: The following video contains graphic footage and language.
Demetrius Trussell, 40, faces 16 charges -- burglary, carjacking, kidnapping, sexual assault, indecent exposure, carjacking, using a person as a shield, and several others. His arraignment is scheduled for Friday.
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San Diego police say Trussell tried to break into two other homes before he successfully entered a home on Viacha Drive near Tierrasanta Boulevard overnight on April 9, 2022.
The break-in prompted the 53-year-old homeowner and her father to barricade themselves in an upstairs room and call 911 but the suspect was able to get into their hideout, SDPD Capt. Rich Freedman said. The man exposed himself and sexually assaulted the woman multiple times, SDPD said.
When the responding officers heard screams from inside, they entered the home and tried to get the suspect to surrender. Instead, he took the daughter and father hostage at gunpoint, according to police.
Footage released Monday shows the suspect standing at the top of the staircase with a gun to the woman's head while officers at the bottom of the stairs try to talk him into surrendering.
At one point, the suspect tells officers, "We have a Mexican standoff," and threatens to shoot the woman in the kneecap if officers didn't evacuate the house and give him room to get away.
Minutes later, the man fires a shot. The woman quickly tells officers the shot appeared to be accidental and that no one was hurt.
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Meanwhile, an officer who climbed up to a balcony at the back of the house was able to secure the woman's elderly father.
While officers inside engaged with the suspect, an officer outside climbed onto the next-door neighbor's roof and fired at the suspect several times through a window. None of the shots hit the suspect but they did prompt him to surrender to officers, SDPD said.
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The officer who who fired at the suspect was identified Monday as Patrick Richards, an 8-year veteran of the department.
Police said a stolen white minivan was recovered outside the home. It was believed to be connected to two other break-in attempts within 90 minutes -- on Rueda Drive and La Cuenta Drive.
SDPD's Homicide Unit was investigating the incident because an officer fired their weapon, which is standard.
