8-year-old Colorado girl allegedly fights off would-be kidnapper in clown mask in her bedroom

By Jesse Sarles

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    LOGAN COUNTY, Colorado (KCNC) — A 56-year-old man is under arrest and accused of attempting to kidnap a child in eastern Colorado last week. Thomas Gallegos faces charged of burglary, assault and kidnapping in Logan County.

According to the arrest affidavit, Gallegos is suspected of breaking into a home on Oct. 15 in Sterling. It happened in the middle of the night on Walnut Street, and the man was allegedly wearing a cloth clown mask. The man then went into the bedroom of an 8-year-old girl and attempted to kidnap her.

Officers say he blindfolded the girl and when she fought back he hit her in head and tried to choke her. The man allegedly ran off with the girl’s phone before police officers arrived at the scene.

The girl had to be treated by doctors for cuts and bruises afterwards but her injuries were not considered serious. Her phone was discovered after it was dumped near Interstate 76 just west of Sterling.

Sterling police say they found Gallegos four days later after an extensive investigation that involved studying of security footage.

“A significant amount of digital, forensic and physical evidence led to the identification and arrest of a suspect,” the Sterling Police Department wrote in a news release.

They took Gallegos into custody after obtaining an arrest warrant.

Police said the man left the clown mask and a pair of gloves at the scene. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation will be doing DNA testing on those objects, according to the arrest document.

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