Suspect arrested after woman runs screaming from home invader

A suspect was arrested after a woman ran screaming from her apartment for help after a man came inside and allegedly tried to assault her, according to a police report.

Robert Earnest Mobley, 29, is charged with assault with intent to commit first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, and first-degree burglary, Myrtle Beach jail records show.

Myrtle Beach officers were called about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday to an apartment complex on the 6200 block of Blynn Drive, off 62nd Avenue North, after a neighbor said she heard a woman screaming loudly, police said.

The 25-year-old victim told police prior to the alleged attack, she heard someone knocking on her door about 1 a.m. and saw Mobley standing outside when she answered.

She said she didn’t know him, but had seen him at the apartment building before. He asked if her boyfriend was there, and she told him she lived alone, authorities said.

He then asked if he could use her phone because his mother was having a stroke, according to the victim. She said she told him he could, and Mobley asked to come inside her apartment several times, authorities said.

The victim told him no several times because it was late, and she didn’t know him. Mobley then told her he was cold and sick and stepped inside her home, according to the report.

Once inside, the victim said Mobley used her phone and her bathroom then thanked her and walked toward the door as if he was leaving; however, he slammed the front door shut instead and grabbed her from behind by the neck in a chokehold. She said Mobley told her to be quiet and not scream, authorities said.

The victim told police she fought him off twice and bit Mobley’s hand and scratched him. She said he grabbed her phone and she started screaming as loud as she could, police said.

The victim was able to get outside and Mobley followed after her still grabbing at her as she ran screaming, police said.

She was still screaming when neighbors came outside, and Mobley then ran from the scene, authorities said.

A 22-year-old, female neighbor at the apartment complex told police Mobley came to her door as well. She said she recognized Mobley as someone she’d seen spending time with people at an apartment unit there, according to the report.

Mobley asked for help, and she told him her boyfriend would be home soon and that he could help him, she said. The neighbor also said she spoke with Mobley briefly then went back inside her home.

A short time later she heard a woman screaming very loudly and called 911, authorities said.

Police went to the apartment where Mobley allegedly knew the occupants and two men and a woman let them inside to search for him, but he was not there, police said.

However, authorities obtained his information, and he was later located and arrested at 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to jail records; details of his arrest were not available in the report.

Mobley is being held at the Myrtle Beach Jail awaiting a bond hearing.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Suspect arrested after woman runs screaming from home invader."