Terrified by an intruder, an elderly woman began to pray. Then he attacked, cops say

A Lauderdale Lakes man is accused of breaking down an elderly woman’s bedroom door and trying to rape her, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

The woman, 78, lived in the 2000 block of Northwest 39th Way in Lauderdale Lakes. On Dec. 26 she saw a stranger in her home and after locking her bedroom door, began to pray.

After getting into the bedroom, Jarvis Wyndell Petty, 25, of Lauderdale Lakes, chased the woman into the living room, according to an arrest warrant. He choked and licked her as he tried to pull off her underwear, the warrant said.

The attack stopped when a grandchild’s friend walked into the house and Petty ran away.