Police on Wednesday arrested a Northeast man on charges he assaulted a 63-year-old woman in her Rhawnhurst apartment last week.
A surveillance camera from a neighborhood restaurant was instrumental in the arrest of Abraham Cordova, 26, police said. The victim was attacked inside her residence on the 7900 block of Loretto Avenue shortly after midnight on April 11.
The man attempted to sexually assault the woman and, when she resisted, he struck her in the head with a hammer several times, according to police. The attacker fled when the woman began to scream.
On Tuesday, a surveillance video obtained from a local restaurant was released to news stations, and shortly after being aired, several anonymous tips were received, police said. Late Wednesday afternoon, officers observed a man fitting the description of the attacker and operating a white Toyota Celica. He was stopped and identified as the suspect in the April 11 attack.
Cordova, of the 7200 block of Horrocks Street, is charged with attempted murder, attempted rape, aggravated assault and related charges.
He is accused of sneaking through an unlocked ground-floor window at the apartment and attacking the woman in the bedroom as she changed clothes. ••
