Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
TAYLORSVILLE — Police say a man kicked down a locked door and chased the man who lives there throughout the house, threatening to kill him in a terrifying home invasion.
Aaron David Heaps, 42, was being held without bail and being investigated for burglary and aggravated assault. Police say Heaps in no way knew the victim in this case, but Heaps does have a sister who lives a few houses away from where the attack happened.
"You could hear it in his voice and see it in his body language. He was still scared and shook up about it," said Dujuan McMinn, a neighbor of the victim.
McMinn hasn't seen much of his neighbor since Friday evening.
"I talked to him today. He's scared and he's going to stay with friends until he finds out what's going on," McMinn said.
Police say just after 5 p.m. Friday Heaps pulled into the victim's driveway and began honking the car's horn nonstop. The victim went outside to see what was going on. Witnesses say Heaps then started yelling, threatening to kill the victim and chased after him. The victim ran inside and locked the door.
"(Heaps) ran up to the door and kicked the door in and started screaming he was going to rape him and kill him and then he went down in the basement and kicked that door in looking for him," McMinn said.
Investigators say the victim hid while Heaps ran around the house searching for him.
"If he would have found him in a closet, it could have been terrifying," McMinn said.
Right before police got there, Heaps ran out of the victim's home to his sister's home a few doors down and hid from officers. Police found him and arrested him shortly after without incident.
I talked to (the victim) today. He's scared and he's going to stay with friends until he finds out what's going on.
–Dujuan McMinn, neighbor
"After we spoke to witnesses and the victim it sounds like this suspect was intoxicated and did have family that lived in the area and mistook this house for his family's house," said Sgt. Corey Lavin with the Taylorsville Police Department.
Police and neighbors agree there's not much the victim could have done.
"Locking doors don't count because he kicked right through that door," McMinn said.
Now McMinn is doing what he can to make his neighbors feel safer in their home
"I went in and put a board to the door frame for it to be secured and put some blocks in the window," McMinn said.
Police say no one thinks this will ever happen to them, but that it's important to have a game plan so you're not blindsided.
