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Teen has frightening encounter with naked intruder who undressed in his room

Posted at 1:25 PM, May 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-10 15:25:41-04

ROSSMOOR, Calif. - A naked man who was chased out of a California home after undressing in a 14-year-old boy's bedroom was taken into custody at a nearby elementary school early Thursday following an hours-long standoff, authorities said.

Keith Eric Newbury is seen in a booking photo released by the Sheriff's Department.

Keith Eric Newbury is seen in a booking photo released by the Sheriff's Department.

The incident began Wednesday night when the intruder walked into a teen's bedroom while the boy was laying in bed, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

“When he got into my room, he shook me on my shoulder. I was facing away from the door," Dane Boryta said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Just making certain you weren’t deaf.’”

Detailing the harrowing ordeal, the teen told KTLA he had never seen the man before and believed he was either mentally ill or on drugs at the time. Somehow he managed to keep his composure as the man started taking off his clothes.

“He started undressing. I looked at him and told him to give me a moment," Boryta said.

As the man disrobed, the teen then went to the kitchen and found his mother and told her there was a stranger in his room.

The man - completely naked by then - came out of the room and into the kitchen where he attacked the mother, putting a computer cable around a neck, according to Boryta. His mother fought back.

The quick-thinking teenager didn't want to hit or punch the man because he concerned it would only escalate the situation. Instead, he grabbed a meat cleaver.

“I raised it over my head and I told him that I didn’t want to have to use it," Boryta said, adding, “I would never use the meat cleaver on the guy, but he doesn’t know that.”

The boy's father, who had been outside, heard the commotion and went back into the house. He grabbed the man around the neck and then chased him outside.

Boryta said his father was moving a car and left the front door unlocked, which was how the intruder got inside.

Deputies responded to the scene after receiving multiple 911 calls regarding the incident. When they arrived, the man got into a white Dodge Van and sped off, stopping his vehicle several blocks away on the grass of Hopkinson Elementary School.

He then climbed atop one of the buildings at the school.

Helicopter video over the scene showed him crouched on the roof, apparently in an effort to hide from deputies.

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, including at least two air units, and surrounded the area, according to the sheriff's statement.

The naked man remained on the roof for about 2 1/2 hours before surrendering, authorities confirmed to KTLA shortly before 2 a.m.

He was allegedly under the influence of an unknown drug and had committed "several acts of vandalism" while trying to hide on the roof, according to the statement.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department identified the suspect as 37-year-old Keith Eric Newbury.

He was treated at a local hospital emergency room. After, Newbury was booked at the Orange County Jail on suspicion of burglary, indecent exposure, assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.