Suspect in Venice rooftop-intruder case has criminal past

A man who authorities said broke into a Venice woman’s home and then followed her outside to the roof as she tried to hide has previously been convicted of assault and weapons charges, court records show.

The image of the man, identified by Los Angeles police as Christian Hicks, went viral this week after photographs of him looming over Melora Rivera as she huddled on the second-story roof of her apartment building were posted on social media sites.

Police said Hicks, 29, broke into Rivera’s home early Wednesday, forcing her to flee to the roof.

Hicks has a string of convictions on charges including domestic violence and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

On Thursday, he was charged with trespassing in a park after it was closed. He has not been charged in Wednesday’s incident, but he was arrested on suspicion of burglary, officials said.

Rivera, who appeared in the 2012 film “Sparkle,” which starred Whitney Houston, told KCBS-TV that she saw Hicks inside her apartment Wednesday morning after he broke through a door panel.

“Once I saw him in the house, I knew that we both couldn’t be there,” she said. “I knew that I didn’t want to have a confrontation with him of any sort, you know, not knowing what his intention was.”

Police said responding officers were able to talk Hicks down shortly before 9:30 a.m. and take him into custody.

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