A suspect was accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a home invasion robbery near UC Riverside

Police said the suspect, Julian Jesus Madrigal, 31, is a local transient who was on parole during the incident.

On Jan. 20 at around 8 a.m., police responded to reports of a sex assault at University Village Towers, an apartment complex marketed as off-campus housing for students.

The victim said she heard the fire alarm go off followed by a knock at her front door. When she opened the door, that’s when Madrigal allegedly entered the apartment and sexually assaulted her.

The woman fought back against Madrigal before he eventually stole some of her belongings and fled the scene, police said.

A surveillance image of the suspect was shared with officers from the University of California, Riverside Police Department. 

Campus police searched the area and found Madrigal nearby. He also had some of the victim’s belongings with him, officers said.

He was taken into custody and is being held without bail. He was on parole for a previous home invasion robbery.

He faces charges of assault with intent to commit a felony, sexual battery, home invasion robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, dissuading/intimidating a victim, and violation of parole. 

No further details were released as the case remains under investigation.

Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Detective Jessica Iniguez at 951-353-7121 or JIniguez@RiversideCA.gov, or Detective C. Wilcox at 951-353-7133 or CWilcox@RiversideCA.gov.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the “Atlas 1” mobile app through the “Send a Message” feature. App downloads for Apple devices can be found here and Android device downloads can be found here.

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – Much of Southern California will see its first raindrops of the winter this weekend.

It’s a welcome change, as an unusually dry winter has brought an active and destructive fire season throughout the region.

Meteorologists say that no more than an inch of rain is expected in most areas, but exact totals may not be particularly predictable due to an unstable air mass hovering over Southern California.

“As there is a lot of uncertainty with this system, small changes in the storm track can change the precipitation amounts and potential for convective storms,” the National Weather Service said.

The first drops should be expected on the coast on Saturday afternoon.

KTLA meteorologist Kaj Goldberg said inland areas, like the San Gabriel Mountains and parts of Orange and Riverside counties, could expected the rain to start on Saturday night. He added that rain chances will be off and on throughout the weekend.

The NWS gave rainfall predictions to the following cities between Saturday and Monday: 0.8 inches in Los Angeles, .52 in Santa Clarita, .22 in Lancaster, .89 in Covina, .88 in Long Beach, .73 in Redondo and .4 in Oxnard.

In the areas above 6,000 feet in elevation, between 2 and 4 inches of snow is expected.

During that timeframe, isolated thunderstorms are also a possibility in some areas. Those storms could bring more aggressive rainfall to those areas, resulting in potential risk to areas devastated by fires, like those in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains.

“Residents living near the recent burn scars should make preparations to protect their homes, businesses, and properties due to the potential for flooding. Be prepared to evacuate if local  authorities tell you to go,” the NWS said.

“The loss of life and property with flooding after fires could be equally devastating to the actual fire itself,” the NWS added.

Southern California will see its first significant rainfall event of the winter over the weekend, but it’ll have to get through a couple more days of fire weather first.

The National Weather Service warned that single-digit humidity and strong wind gusts on Thursday and into early Friday could create critical fire weather conditions throughout the Southland.

Wind gusts as high as 60 miles per hour were expected in parts of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties on Thursday. The highest winds are expected to last until Thursday afternoon.

Residents, especially those living in fire prone areas and communities, are advised to stay  vigilant and be in a continual state of readiness,” a NWS bulletin reads.

The NWS Critical Fire Weather Warning, originally set to expire on Thursday, has been extended until 10 a.m. Friday.

The warnings come at a time of particular significance as Southern California, and the Los Angeles-area in particular, has suffered through a brutal wildfire season.