VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A man was arrested after entering an Ormond Beach home and grabbing an 11-year-old girl by the hand, then attempting to burglarize a second home nearby on Christmas Eve, deputies said.
Steven M. Hasugulgum, 21, who has an address in Daytona Beach but is a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, was charged with burglary with battery, attempted burglary of an occupied dwelling and attempted burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, according to a news release from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Hasugulgum around 6 p.m. was outside a home in the 1900 block of Myrtle Jo Drive when the girl opened the rear sliding-glass door and stepped outside, according to deputies. Hasugulgum approached her, put his fingers to his lips and told her to “Shh,” and followed her back into the house as she retreated, deputies said. Hasugulgum then allegedly grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her toward him.
The girl’s father heard something, came to see what was happening and chased Hasugulgum out of the home. Volusia County deputies and Ormond Beach police set up a perimeter, and a K-9 unit began tracking for the suspect. Home surveillance video allowed deputies to see what Hasugulgum looked like.
Around 6:40 p.m., a woman a couple of streets over, in the 1900 block of Nelson Avenue, told authorities she saw the doorknob twisting on her locked front door. She opened the door and was confronted by a stranger who met the description of Hasugulgum acting erratic and holding a hammer, deputies said. She asked if she could help him, then closed and relocked the door.
Hasugulgum then allegedly ran to her SUV and tried to open it, but the woman hit a panic alarm and Hasugulgum ran away.
As the search continued, Hasugulgum showed up back at Myrtle Jo Drive just before 7:30 p.m. and he was taken into custody. He remained in Volusia County Branch Jail on Wednesday on $20,000 baild.