A Craighead County family returning home from a ball game in Lake City got an unsettling surprise Nov. 2: a Ring doorbell alert showing a naked man walking through their yard, followed by the discovery that he had made his way inside their house. The homeowner and his brother searched the property with handguns before finding the man and holding him until deputies arrived.
According to K8 News, Craighead County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a reported residential burglary in progress on County Road 645 at about 9:18 p.m. on Nov. 2. The homeowner said he received the Ring notification showing the man walking past his front door, then called his brother to help search the home. The two men swept the house armed with their handguns before confronting the intruder.
The homeowner also found a hat, a cellphone and a pair of shoes on the back porch that he said did not belong to his family, a detail that pointed deputies toward the man's path before he was located. The report notes that the homeowner's husband and brother-in-law — the latter a state trooper — were preparing to clear the residence themselves because they believed someone had broken in.
A Tense Search Ends With Deputies Taking Over
Deputies ultimately found a naked man covered by a towel, lying facedown with his hands by his head, and placed him in handcuffs. The man was identified as 46-year-old Noel Perez, reportedly of Corento, Florida. Deputies also observed what appeared to be footprints in the mud near the home, according to the same report.
Perez offered an explanation for how he ended up inside the house, claiming that an older couple he believed were the homeowner's parents had let him in. But the homeowner told investigators his parents lived in another town, that nobody else was supposed to be home, and that there was no damage indicating forced entry — the house, he said, was most likely left unlocked. Per the probable-cause affidavit as described by the outlet, Perez also said he had smoked a large amount of methamphetamine before he came into contact with deputies, and separately told them he had left his clothes in a creek under a bridge.
Medical Check, Arrest, and Looming Court Date
Emergency medical personnel evaluated Perez at the scene and said he appeared to be okay before he was taken to the Craighead County Detention Center. Special Judge Barbara Halsey found probable cause to charge him with residential burglary, a Class B felony, and criminal trespass in or on a vehicle or structure or premises, a Class A misdemeanor, the station reported. He is being held on a $150,000 cash or surety bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 16.
The case echoes other recent Craighead County-area incidents involving break-ins and steep bonds. In a 2019 case, a woman reported finding a man, Derrick A. Hale, naked in an apartment laundry room, according to a separate K8 News report. More recently, Jonesboro authorities held Mary Alice Thomas on a $150,000 bond after accusing her of forcing her way into a home and assaulting a victim, as reported by Jonesboro Right Now. In another Jonesboro case covered by the same outlet, Erica Elizabeth Henn was accused of entering a home on video without the victim opening the door and leaving with a handgun. Those cases remain separate and unrelated to the Craighead County incident involving Perez.
