INDIANAPOLIS – An elderly woman suffered minor injuries after she was tied up by a man who broke into her home on Indianapolis' southwest side Wednesday evening.
Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department arrived at a home in the 9200 block of Camby Road just after 6 p.m.
The suspect, 34-year-old Jeremy Clark, came into the house, pushed the woman to the ground in the dining room, fought with her and then bound her hands with a vacuum cleaner cord, according to police.
"He grabbed me. I started to try to get away from him. He threw me down on the floor. And he cut my vacuum cleaner cord and started tying around my arms. I tried to kick him and he tied my feet up," she said.
The woman said the incident lasted about 15-20 minutes, but it felt like forever.
"I'm scared to death to stay at home by myself anymore," she said. "I was thinking he was going to rape me more than anything. I didn't know what he was going to do. I was scared out of my wits. I've never been so scared in my life."
Clark is accused of stealing debit cards, credit cards, cash and the woman’s 2011 Chevy Equinox before he fled the area.
After he left, the 74-year-old woman was able to chew through the binding and call for help.
"I said please Jeremy don't do this. Why are you doing this to me. Don't do this," the woman said.
A short time later, her vehicle was found in a parking lot in the 5800 block of W. 10th Street.
Detectives said Clark had completed yard work for the woman in the past. Once leaving the woman's home, he stopped at several banks to get money out of the victim's account, police said.
Neighbors in the area don't understand why Clark would commit the crime.
"It's just a travesty how one human can treat another human like that. It is beyond comprehension," said David Jenkins. "Hopefully he is apprehended and brought to justice. I hope he can redeem himself partially by apologizing to this poor woman."
The victim is in the process of changing locks in her home, but said she hopes police find him.
"I want him to go to jail. I want him in jail," she said. "I want him off the streets so he can't do this to anyone else. If he would do it to me. He would do it to anybody."
Clark is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing about 190 pounds with a full mustache and beard. Clark was last seen wearing a white shirt, brown shorts, and dark colored shoes.
Detectives say if you see Clark, call police immediately as he is considered armed and dangerous.
If you have any information on Clark’s whereabouts, call Crime Stoppers at (317) 262-TIPS.
