Police arrested a Falls Church man for breaking into a woman's home early Saturday morning and attempting to sexually assault her.
The incident was reported just before 1:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Franklin Street in Alexandria. The victim told police she woke up to a stranger attempting to rape her, but she succesfully fought him off. Dennis Wheaton, 44, was arrested shortly after fleeing the scene and charged with burglary and attempted rape.
Neighbors said Wheaton had worked as a handyman in the neighborhood. Nelson Greene, a funeral home director who lives near the incident, said he's not surprised the attempted rape happened on his street.
"We're close to the Beltway, so we have all kinds of crazy stuff happening here,"Greene said. "You can run off the Beltway, drop into this block, do whatever the hell you want to do and escape."
