Police
arrested a 30-year-old man Thursday on allegations of burglary and attempted
sexual assault.
Joseph
Laurente, also known as Joe Lamrenje, a resident of Las Vegas, was booked
at the Clark County jail pending a court
appearance on charges including battery, burglary, attempted sexual assault
with weapon and coercion with force.
Authorities
say Laurente was suspected of entering neighbors' apartments through sliding
doors, attacking a sleeping woman in one unit and taking a purse from another
woman in another unit.
Metro Police
responded Tuesday to a report that a woman had been attacked in her home in the
8100 block of West Flamingo Road. The woman told police she was roused from
sleep after finding an unknown man on top of her. She said the man put a pillow
over her face and attempted to sexually assault her. The victim was able to
fight off the man but she sustained several injuries to her face, neck and
wrist. The suspect ran from the apartment.
On
Wednesday, police responded to a reported robbery that happened at the same
building as the attempted sexual assault. The victim in this incident reported
that on July 19 she confronted a man who had entered her apartment. She told
police she struggled with the suspect who threatened her with a sharp-edged
weapon before he left the apartment with her purse.
The
description of the burglary suspect and the sexual assault suspect were found
to be matched. Police believe the suspect may have lived in the complex because
there had been other reported incidents of burglaries in the same apartment
building.