A 34-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to breaking into a woman’s home in St. Paul’s Macalester-Groveland and sexually assaulting her at gunpoint in April.

Deonte Marquon Thomas, of Maplewood, will face a 20-year sentence, which was agreed upon by prosecutors and Thomas’ attorney, according to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

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

After his arrest on April 25, Thomas told police he’d been driving around and “randomly selected a house to break into,” according to a criminal complaint.

The woman had called 911 on April 15 and officers were dispatched to the 300 block of South Snelling Avenue about 4:20 a.m. She said she was sleeping when she heard pounding on the side door of her home, and then saw a man break the door’s glass, reach inside and unlock the door.

The man choked her, causing her to pass out. He pointed a gun at her and she feared she would die, the complaint said. The man sexually assaulted her and, at one point, she bit his arm as hard as she could.

After he left, police searched for the assailant, including using a canine and drones, but didn’t find him in the area.

Police reviewed residential security videos and one showed a pickup in the alley near the victim’s residence at the time of the attack, and five of six license plate characters were visible. Police traced the license plate to a pickup registered to Thomas, the complaint said.

Thomas pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree criminal sexual conduct while armed with a dangerous weapon and first-degree burglary. A charge of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited due to a felony conviction will be dismissed, according to the county attorney’s office.

Thomas, who remains in custody, is scheduled to be sentenced in September. His attorney couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

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.

Related Articles

Prosecutor: Burnsville officers justified in force used against gunman who killed three

Faribault man shot Lakeville Amazon co-worker in fight about missing firearm attachment, murder charge says

St. Paul homicide: Man found shot in yard in Payne-Phalen

Feud over alleged marijuana theft cited in St. Paul shooting death charges

Police fatally shoot man at homeless shelter in Crookston