VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A 21-year-old man was trying to break into homes on Christmas Eve, according to a Facebook post from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office – but what he’s accused of doing around 6 p.m. on a quiet street in the Ormand beach was much worse.
Deputies say Steven Hasugulgum was outside a home, when an 11-year-old girl opened her home’s sliding glass door and stepped outside.
The girl told investigators Hasugulgum put his finger to his lips to ‘shh’ her – then followed her inside and grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.
Deputies say the girl’s father heard a noise and chased Hasugulgum out of the house – but not before his face was captured by a home surveillance camera.
Deputies knew what he looked like but had no idea where he was.
They set up a perimeter and used a K-9 to track him.
Then, about 40 minutes later, deputies say Hasugulgum showed up at a woman’s front door a couple blocks away.
She told deputies he was twisting her locked doorknob, and when she opened the door to find out why – Hasugulgum was holding a hammer and acting ‘erratically.’
The woman slammed the door and set off her SUV’s panic alarm after deputies say Hasugulgum tried to open it.
Deputies caught a break around 7:26 p.m.
They say Hasugulgum showed up on another nearby street and they arrested him.
He’s facing several charges – burglary with battery, attempted burglary of an occupied dwelling and attempted burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.
Deputies say Hasugulgum lives in Daytona Beach but is a Micronesian citizen.
He was being held on a $20,000 bond.
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