HAMDEN, Conn. — A Connecticut man is accused of breaking into at least one college student’s home and targeting another woman after he delivered food to them, authorities said.
Adiel Viana-Ribeiro, 24, of Bridgeport, was arrested Wednesday, WVIT reported. He was charged with burglary in the first degree, criminal attempt to commit burglar, second-degree criminal mischief, sixth-degree larceny, engaging police in pursuit and reckless driving, WTNH reported.
According to Hamden police, a female Quinnipiac University student reported that Viana-Ribeiro entered an unlocked back door while she was sleeping Tuesday night, WTNH reported. When she woke up, the woman said Viana-Ribeiro was standing at the foot of her bed, according to the television station. He left when the woman screamed, WVIT reported.
HAMDEN POLICE UPDATE on food delivery driver allegedly stalking female customers @WTNH https://t.co/45gzSctwZV
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Earlier that night, another female Quinnipiac University student told police that someone attempted to break into her home through a window, WFSB reported. The person, later identified as Viana-Ribeiro, fled the scene when the woman shined a flashlight at the window, according to the television station.
No one was hurt in either incident, police said.
Investigators said officers found Viana-Ribeiro in the neighborhood, and when they tried to stop him, he drove away, WVIT reported. He was later captured with help from Connecticut State Police, the television station reported.
Police said Viana-Ribeiro delivers food and drives for app-based rideshare services.
“He was specifically targeting previous customers, college-aged women, that used these services and then would go back after determining there weren’t any males at the houses he was targeting,” Detective Sean Dolan, a spokesperson for the Hamden Police Department, told WTNH.
Viana-Ribeiro is being held on a $50,000 bail and will appear in court on Dec. 29, according to WTNH.
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