Man charged with assault, attempted murder of 80-year-old woman attacked inside her Hollywood apartment
A 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder and assault after authorities say he forced his way into a Hollywood retirement complex and attacked an 80-year-old woman, leaving her critically injured.
Marcus Datwione Peete was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of attempted murder, assault, burglary and sexual penetration by a foreign object, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.
The attack happened during the early morning hours of June 18, at a retirement complex near Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue, police said at a news conference last month. The suspect — now identified as Peete — repeatedly hit the buzzer at the entrance of the secured complex until someone let him inside, police said.
Surveillance footage released by the LAPD showed the man taking an elevator to one of the building’s upper floors. He then knocked on the door of the apartment where the 80-year-old woman lived alone, police said.
When the woman answered her door, prosecutors said, Peete forced his way inside. He pushed the victim into her bedroom, where prosecutors said he beat her, then sexually assaulted her as she fought back.
Peete punched the woman before running off, prosecutors said.
The woman left her apartment and sought help from a neighbor, who called police, the LAPD said. She then was taken to a hospital.
The LAPD went public on June 22 with its search for the attacker, releasing surveillance footage from the retirement complex and asking the public for help.
By then, however, Peete already was in custody. Prosecutors said he was arrested June 19 — a day after the attack — near Crenshaw and Olympic boulevards. Jail records showed he was picked up on suspicion of violating his parole.
Court records show Peete has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for battery and exposing himself in public.
If convicted of the charges filed in connection with the Hollywood attack, prosecutors said, Peete faces up to life in prison.
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