Deputies in Florida arrested a 20-year-old man after he allegedly admitted to going to his ex-girlfriend’s house to watch her sleep through the bedroom window.
Jalen Vallejos is accused of aggravated stalking, attempted armed burglary, loitering or prowling, possession of burglary tools, and criminal mischief.
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The investigation began around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, when a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputy patrolling a Deltona neighborhood noticed Vallejos, who attempted to conceal his face. Despite the fact that it was 76 degrees outside, Vallejos was wearing a ski mask and layered clothing, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit.
Body camera footage showed Vallejos saying, “It gets kind of cold out,” when confronted about his outfit by the deputy.
Vallejos also had a knife clipped to his belt, burglary tools in his pocket, and weeds on his clothing, implying that he had walked through some vegetation, deputies wrote.
“Just be honest with me, man, because at this point you’re caught,” according to the deputy. “Because the more honest you are the more you can do to benefit yourself.”
According to cops, after initially claiming to be “just taking a walk,” the suspect admitted to going to his ex-girlfriend’s home to watch her sleep. He allegedly stated that he had been doing so since their breakup, which occurred about six months before the incident. He also allegedly had a sledgehammer in the truck he drove to the scene.
Vallejos insisted he did not intend to harm anyone and only had the items for self-defense, despite the fact that he believed his actions in recent months had been “escalating,” according to cops.
“I’m afraid,” Vallejos replied.
After receiving Miranda warnings, the alleged stalker reportedly stated that he had duct tape and wire cutters that he intended to use on cameras and the home surveillance system, as well as black spray paint that he had previously used to vandalize the garage, according to police. He claimed to have the burglary tools required to break the lock on her home’s gate.
Deputies spoke with both the ex-girlfriend and her father. She stated that their relationship had ended and that she no longer wanted to communicate with him. Vallejos continued to call her and show up at her house uninvited, she claimed. She and her father confirmed that someone spray painted their garage in April.
When police informed her and her father that Vallejos had been apprehended with a knife, sledgehammer, and burglary tools, they said they were “in fear for their lives.”
Vallejos was arrested and transported to the Volusia County Jail, where he remains without bond. He was assigned a public defender.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood believes Vallejos was doing something more sinister than simply watching his ex-girlfriend.
“I mean, that’s got all the signs to me that somebody’s getting killed,” the man replied.
