A 23-year-old man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of assaulting a 55-year-old female real estate agent outside a home in Laguna Niguel, authorities said.
John Thomas Glenn, a transient from Laguna Niguel, was taken into custody by deputies after he walked out of a park near the intersection of Crown Valley Parkway and Niguel Road (map), the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The alleged assault occurred about 1 p.m. Saturday when the real estate agent was accessing a lock box on the front door of home. Glenn approached the woman, “placed her in a chokehold and punched her several times, causing her to begin losing consciousness,” the release said.
After fleeing the scene, he engaged in a physical altercation with a neighbor who had heard the commotion, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Glenn then ran away on foot, officials said.
The suspect was not immediately located despite a search by deputies, bloodhounds and air support.
Investigators gathered evidence that led to Glenn’s arrest, after which he told them “he was under the influence of drugs and was attempting to gain entry into the home to commit a theft.”
Detectives, who described the incident as a crime of opportunity, do not believe the victim was targeted as a real estate agent.
Glenn was booked into the Orange County Jail on charges of attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, and was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, according to online inmate records.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7000. Anonymous tips can be submitted at 855-847-6227 or occrimestoppers.org.