A man seen on video forcing his way into a California home and attacking the homeowner has been arrested and charged with assault.
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Viral home security video shows Jason Nichols, 30, in a trench coat, aggressively banging on the front door, smashing an external doorbell and repeatedly screaming, “Where is your daughter?” before he entered the residence in Fairfield last Tuesday.
Nichols is charged with one count each of felony assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, threatening crime with intent to terrorize and vandalism, according to court documents.
Online court documents did not list an attorney for Nichols.
Fairfield police investigators said in a statement that the homeowner’s wife and child were alone in the home when doorbell camera video captured Nichols at the door.
The homeowner began talking to Nichols remotely over the camera’s app, the video showed, and Nichols threatened him while identifying himself as “Harry Dresden,” a wizard from a fictional novel series.
In a statement, police said the suspect gained entry through a glass side door of the property after initially having been unable to kick his way through the front door.
Security video from inside the home shows Nichols ripping open closet doors and apparently searching for the homeowner’s daughter while screaming, “Where the f— is she?”
Nichols was then confronted by the woman’s husband, who rushed home and armed himself with a shovel.
The homeowner and Nichols both sustained head injuries in an altercation, police said. Officers later found Nichols near the home and took him into custody.
Police said in an update Monday that a parent reported an encounter between Nichols and their child that occurred on April 5.
“Based on the investigation, officers determined there was probable cause to arrest Nichols for additional crimes,” the department said, adding that he was booked on one count of annoying or molesting a child.
Nichols was arraigned in Solano County Court on Monday. Judge William Pendergast III raised his bail from $35,000 to $250,000.
Nichols’ next scheduled court date is April 23, according to jail records.
Fairfield is a city of about 122,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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