A woman feared she was going to die when a stranger broke into her St. Paul home, held a gun to her head and sexually assaulted her, according to charges filed Friday.

Police reviewed residential security videos and one showed a pickup truck in the alley near the victim’s Macalester-Groveland residence at the time of the attack, and five of six license plate characters were visible. Police traced the license plate to a pickup truck registered to Deonte Marquon Thomas, 34, according to a criminal complaint.

Deonte Marquon Thomas (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

A license plate reader captured the same truck heading away from the area two minutes after the woman called 911.

St. Paul police announced Thursday they’d arrested Thomas, of Maplewood, in Blaine that morning at his workplace.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Thomas with first-degree criminal sexual conduct while armed with a dangerous weapon, first-degree burglary and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited due to a felony conviction.

“Each of us should expect to be safe in our own homes, free from the violence that transpired in our community this past week,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a Friday statement. “I want to thank the sexual assault investigators from the St.. Paul Police Department for their tireless and quick work. We will do everything in our power to bring justice to the victim and our community in this case.”

Man broke into home by breaking glass

The criminal complaint gave the following information from prosecutors:

The woman called 911 on April 15 and officers were dispatched to the 300 block of South Snelling Avenue about 4:20 a.m.

She provided a detailed description of the suspect, including that he had vertical scar extending from his sternum to his belt line and she said he smelled strongly of body odor and alcohol.

Police searched for the man, including using a canine and drones, but didn’t find him in the area.

The woman said she’d been sleeping when she heard pounding on the side door of her home. She then saw a man break the door’s glass, reach inside and unlock it. He went in her home and she asked, “What do you want?” He wanted to know where her money was.

The woman handed the man her purse and he took cash, but then said, “I’m not looking for money” and physically attacked her.

The man robbed the woman of money, pulled out a weapon and sexually assaulted her, police have said. He ran away and that’s when she called 911.

Sexual assaults by strangers are rare — eight out of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

Minnesota court records show Thomas’ most recent convictions include disorderly conduct in Dakota County in 2020, domestic assault in a 2019 Maplewood case, disorderly conduct in a 2019 North St. Paul case and violating a domestic abuse no-contact order in a 2013 St. Paul case.

He was charged with felony burglary and robbery counts in 2008 Eagan and St. Paul cases and pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in one case and aiding and abetting theft in the other.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

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