Apr 8, 2008 6:13 pm US/Central
Drunken Stranger Gives Family Shock Of A Lifetime
Couple Awoke To Find Man Standing In Bedroom With Their Baby
CROWN POINT, Ind. (CBS) ―
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Louis Ricardo Arriaga said he was drunk when he walked into neighbors' home and picked up their child, who was crying.
CBS
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to find a stranger, standing in your bedroom, holding your child in his arms.
CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports the scenario was a very real nightmare for one Crown Point, Ind., couple.
"The only thing I want to say is I'm so sorry to the neighbor," said Louis Ricardo Arriaga.
Police say Arriaga walked into 2-year-old Nova Mack's home at about 3 a.m. Friday and picked her up.
He says he cannot remember any of the incident, and blames it on vodka shots.
Arriaga says he'd been drinking at a club on Crown Point's town square and was trying to walk home.
Problem is - he walked into the unlocked back door of the wrong home two houses away.
"I woke up at 3:30ish and there was a guy standing there holding my daughter," Nova's father, Ryan Mack, said. "He said, 'I heard her cry. I heard her cry. Here you go.' And the first thing I said to him was thanks, because I was still sleeping and I just woke up, so I didn't know if I was dreaming…"
"I just immediately said give her to me," said Nova's mother, Magdalena Gomez. "I got her from him and put her behind me on the bed because I didn't know if like he said, we didn't know if he had a gun, we didn't know if he had a knife."
"Due to his state of intoxication, he mistakenly went in the wrong house, realized he was in the wrong house with the baby, panicked and fled the house," said Crown Point Police Dept. Chief Pete Land.
"At the very least, the man should never touch an alcoholic beverage for the rest of his life," Mack said.
Police say they've heard Arriaga's apologies, but they're still concerned his actions could have created a very dangerous situation. They're asking the prosecutor's office to consider filing criminal charges for the home invasion.
Policd arrested Arriaga for public intoxication. They say his blood alcohol level was .15 – almost twice the legal limit.
Turns out, the little girl's family does know him from around town.
Even though he's promised his church he'll quit drinking for the next two years, the Mack family is looking for somewhere else to live.
(CBS 2 and the Post-Tribune are news partners covering stories in the communities of northwest Indiana. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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