Gilroy police arrested a man accused of attacking a woman while she slept in her central Gilroy home.
Damian Derby, 26, was arrested without incident Saturday afternoon for assault with intent to commit rape, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, burglary, stalking and parole violation at his home on the 7600 block of Eigleberry, just a block away from where police said he crawled through a woman’s window and attempted to rape her early Dec. 18.
Four officers and a supervisor knocked on his door Saturday afternoon, after the victim picked Derby out of a police lineup, Sgt. Jim Gillio said.
“It could have been a dangerous situation for us and the suspect was on parole so we didn’t take any chances,” he said.
When Derby, who was on parole for a non-sexually related offense, answered the door, he was quietly taken into custody, Gillio said.
The victim later said she had met Derby before, but was introduced to him only by the nickname ‘Major.’ Since then, he has made repeated attempts to contact her against her will but family members persuaded him to stay away from her home. However, they did not report this behavior to police.
Police received numerous leads after releasing a sketch of the suspected attacker, according to a police press release. The sketch appeared on the Dispatch’s Web site beginning Friday. However, further information provided by the victim is what led police to Derby, Gillio said.
Gillio said that, although none of the leads phoned in by members of the public lead to Derby’s identification and arrest, the police department appreciated all the public effort and wanted to thank everyone who contacted them with possible leads.
About 4 a.m. Dec. 18, Derby entered a 30-year-old woman’s home near the corner of Fifth and Eigleberry streets through an open window usually used by the household pets, police said. He attacked the woman in her bedroom, where she was sleeping.
The two began to struggle and moved to the kitchen, where the woman armed herself with kitchen knives, which she used to fend off her attacker so that she could get outside, police said. The woman managed to escape her home and ran to a nearby pay phone to call police.
As Derby ran after her, he “told her in no uncertain terms what his desires/intentions were,” according to a police press release.
The woman found a phone and called police, but was attacked again before she could talk with a 911 operator, police said. Derby then dragged her into some nearby shrubs, where police found them “seconds later,” according to the press release. The responding officer struggled briefly with the attacker before he managed to break away and flee
The woman was physically unhurt but emotionally shaken, Gillio said.
