Police: St. George man breaks into a home at random, assaults residents

A man is facing charges Tuesday after he allegedly broke into a St. George home at random in the middle of the night and assaulted residents.

Ulises Josebeth Alegria, 27, of St. George, was charged with aggravated assault, burglary, assault causing substantial bodily injury, criminal mischief, failure to disclose identity, and intoxication.

St. George Police Capt. Mike Giles told ABC4 News the suspect allegedly broke into a residence near 3400 South River Road by climbing through a woman’s bedroom window around 1 a.m. Saturday.

Investigators say Alegria repeatedly punched the woman as she tried to flee her bedroom. The woman’s husband entered the room, where he was knocked to the ground and punched in the head several times.

Court records show the victims are in their 50s and were both “recovering” from recent surgeries. Arresting officers said Alegria had a “significant” physical advantage at 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds.

Neighbors told ABC4’s Katie Karalis that for the most part, they feel they live in a safe neighborhood, but for some, the incident caused so much fear they couldn’t sleep in their apartment.

“St. George seems like a quiet nice town, so for this to happen, it’s a little shocking,” neighbor Matt Jacox said. “I was up at 1:30 a.m. getting ready for work and I saw a bunch of cop cars and officers searching the hills with flashlights.”

The victims were able to chase the suspect out of the residence and follow him as he ran down the road where our officers found the victim, who was pointing him in the direction of the Sunroc plant,” said Giles, who added that ten officers responded to the scene.

A K-9 unit was called to the scene and found him hiding while intoxicated in a nearby construction yard.

St. George police say Alegria has assaulted several people in the community in the past month. On Oct. 15, Alegria was charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly punched a co-worker and broke his jaw. On the same day, he was charged with criminal mischief, assault, and domestic violence after allegedly choking his girlfriend in front of her children.

Allegria is being held in Purgatory Correctional Facility without bail, as the court ruled he would be a “substantial” danger to the community.

If you or someone you know is in a dangerous, domestic situation there is free and confidential help. Support for victims and survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence is available 24/7 at 1-800-897-LINK (5465) or at udvc.org or SVSUtah.org.

 If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or in an emergency, please call 9-1-1 immediately.

Story provided by our news partners at ABC 4 News.