'Do you got a boyfriend?' 28-year-old man allegedly broke into apartment while children were alone

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police said just one day after a man moved into his apartment in the city's westside, someone broke in while his children and underage cousins were home alone.

A heavily bandaged Jhon Carabali-Gomez appeared in court on Monday to answer to one burglary charge and two aggravated assault charges in connection to the crime.

Edward Brady said he had been helping his brother move into a unit at the Village at Piney Point Apartments on Saturday. Brady said that night Carabali-Gomez broke in while no one was home by using a screwdriver to pop the lock on a bedroom window.

"He took the Wi-Fi box. He didn't take anything else, just the box," Brady said.

But the next day, Carabali-Gomez broke in again, according to Brady. This time, his brother's two children and two underage cousins were home.

Brady said he had a disturbing question for his 15-year-old cousin.

"He asked her, 'Do you got a boyfriend?'" Brady said, adding that the 28-year-old suspect then began approaching her and the other children.

"He's telling the kids, the little babies, to 'come here' like he knew them. 'Come here. Come to me,'" Brady said.

Prosecutors said the girl locked herself and the other children in another room and called her cousin. Her cousin called the police and Brady, who works as a security guard at the apartment complex.

Brady said he found Carabali-Gomez in a walkway not far from his brother's apartment.

"He had a backpack. He got his hand in the backpack. He was backing up from me. He was like, 'No, no.' He started speaking, I guess, Spanish," Brady said.

Brady said when he tried to detain Carabali-Gomez, the suspect tried stabbing him with a screwdriver.

"When I first tried to grab him, he tried to poke me with it," Brady said.

Brady backed off and waited for his brother and a friend to arrive. That's when all three men approached the suspect again.

"When he turned to run, he tackled him. Boom. And that's how we got him. I handcuffed him. We waited until 911 came," Brady said.

Carabali-Gomez was arrested and given a $150,000 bond, but even if he posts that, he won't be able to get out of jail because ICE has placed a hold on the Colombian national who's referred to as a "Homeland Security subject of interest" in court documents.

Eyewitness News asked ICE about the incident but has yet to receive a response.

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