Photo: Paul Emiliano
An Aliso Viejo, California, man swiftly landed in jail after two criminal incidents on consecutive days.
The first took place early in the evening of Sunday, December 2nd, 2018, when the suspect attacked a woman in the area of Alicia Parkway and Via Lomas in Laguna Niguel. She was walking home on a footpath from a nearby shopping center.
Though being thrown to the ground and almost choked by the suspect, the 35-year-old victim, who was deaf, was able to escape him. She then ran about a quarter of a mile, whereupon she contacted people for assistance.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the incident and, speaking with the victim in sign language, learned that she had noticed the man following her whilst she was walking on the trail. Authorities conducted a search of the area forthwith, without locating a suspect. The victim also provided a detailed description of the suspect to facilitate the making of a composite sketch.
Slightly more than 24 hours later and a little more than a mile away, Sheriff’s deputies received report of a man brandishing a knife and threatening two individuals at a residence on Abbeywood Lane in Aliso Viejo.
Surveillance footage from a Ring video doorbell system allowed authorities to identify Paul Emiliano, aged 39 and of Aliso Viejo. Arrested on suspicion of brandishing a weapon and criminal threats, Emiliano was booked into Orange County Jail.
Deputies on the December 3 incident recognized that the suspect in the composite sketch from the December 2 incident strongly resembled Emiliano. The victim of the attempted kidnapping also positively identified Emiliano as the man who had attacked her.
The encounters have given the Orange County Sheriff’s Department reason to believe that there may have be other victims of Emiliano in this generally calm area of Southern California. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the OC Sheriff’s Department dispatch at 714-647-7000. Anonymous tips may also be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.
