PATTERSON, Calif. - Several families in Patterson say a man has been terrorizing them, stalking them and breaking into their homes while they're sleeping.
The man, identified as Flavio Alvarez, is behind bars at the Stanislaus County Jail.
"I heard this massive, horrible screaming," Carolyn, who only provided her first name, told KTXL.
Carolyn says her once secure home was invaded by Alvarez, her neighbor.
"I screamed downstairs, ‘What’s happening, what’s happening?’ and (my daughter) screamed, ‘Call the police, call the police! He’s here, he’s here!'" she said.
Carolyn and her daughter say the man tormented them since he moved into their Poppy Avenue neighborhood.
"Whoever he is, he has stalked my daughter for the last five months," Carolyn said. "He's stalking us, he’s in my house."
Carolyn's daughter, who asked to not be identified, says the nightmare began with an unwanted touch around 4 a.m. Saturday
"I woke up to someone touching my leg, my foot primarily, and he was standing pretty much over me," she said. "I started screaming for him to get out and it took him too long to get out."
This family is just one of many who say they’ve been stalked by Alvarez.
An 89-year-old woman too scared to speak on-camera to KTXL says that in mid-May, the 20-year-old broke into her home, barefoot, and tried to grab her.
Another woman says five years ago Alvarez also broke into her home and tried to kiss her.
Carolyn’s daughter says she has called Patterson Police Services a number of times. The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department says Alvarez has been arrested five times in 2019, including once for Saturday's incident.
"They hit him with a charge, I got a restraining order, but that’s not stopping him," she said.
The family says officers found Alvarez back at his home. While he was being taken away in handcuffs, Carolyn says she hit him with a warning.
"I looked at him and I said, 'You need to stay away from my daughter,'" Carolyn said. "And he looked at me and he goes, 'I like her.'"
Alvarez declined KTXL's request for a jailhouse interview.
