ORLANDO, Fla. – Deputies have arrested a man accused of forcing his way into a woman’s apartment and attempting to sexually assault in November, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Xavier Mendez, 31, was arrested Wednesday.
Deputies said Mendez was the man who pushed into an apartment at the Mercury 3100 Apartments on Alafaya Bay Lane on Nov. 26, as the victim was coming home. Investigators said Mendez threw the victim onto a chair, then on the floor, and tried to take off her shorts. They said the victim fought and screamed for help and a roommate came out of a room with a pair of scissors, causing Mendez to run away.
Deputies said the witness believed they saw Mendez watch them while at the gym, and then followed them home. Surveillance video showed the suspect and the vehicle he was driving.
Investigators said they were able to use the license plate on the vehicle to track Mendez down. They also said they were able to track his cell phone to the apartment complex on that day. Complex officials told deputies that Mendez was not a resident there.
The sheriff’s office also believes Mendez is the suspect in a separate attack, which took place a little over a mile from the Mercury 3100 Apartments. Mendez was arrested in that case, but, in 2022, the State Attorney’s Office never formally filed charges, according to the sheriff’s office.
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain, who replaced Monique Worrell after she was ousted by Gov. Ron DeSantis, held a news conference Thursday to discuss the case against Mendez and how his office intends to handle it.
“Everyone should feel safe in their community I think that’s the job of my office to make sure everyone feels safe going home, feel safe walking to their car, feel safe doing their normal life without someone interrupting it by trying to commit a criminal act against them,” Bain said. “That’s really what my job entails to make sure that gets done and hopefully with the partnerships we have now with law enforcement we can get that done.”
Mendez is charged with attempted sexual battery, burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery and kidnapping.
“We’re trying to focus on what we’re doing here right now,” Bain said. “Focus on the victims we have right now, focusing on making sure that we keep dangerous offenders off our streets, we’re also making sure that you know these cases that are trickling through our office are given the correct attention they need so we can come up with just outcomes for everyone.”
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