JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A Marianna man was arrested after he tried assaulting a woman he helped with a flat tire shortly after Hurricane Michael hit the area.
Robert Kelley, 36, was taken into custody on Thursday morning.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said Kelley helped a woman with a flat tire shortly after Hurricane Michael hit the area.
JCSO said after the woman went home and her husband left for work, Kelley, who is believed to have been watching the home, entered the house with a knife, and assaulted the woman in her bedroom.
According to JCSO, the woman was able to arm herself with a hammer, defending herself and her infant child.
After Kelley ran from the house and the woman contacted law enforcement, a warrant was obtained. Subsequently, the U.S. Marshal Service adopted the case and began tracking Kelley.
The North Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force of the Marshal Service, helped by the USMS Task Force from South Alabama, found Kelley at a house trailer near Cottonwood, Alabama at about 4:00 a.m. Thursday.
JCSO said Kelley refused to leave the trailer and had to be removed. No injuries were sustained during the incident.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dothan Police Department all helped in arresting Kelley.
He was booked into the Houston County Jail to await extradition back to Florida.
He is being charged with armed burglary of an occupied dwelling, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault.
