Teen charged with assaulting 2 minors after breaking into apartment in South Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Two minors were assaulted after an 18-year-old broke into an apartment in South Nashville during an argument, according to officials.

Reports from the Metro Nashville Police Department said just after 4 p.m. Sunday, officers were called to an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Patricia Lane.

According to court documents, 18-year-old Alberto Rafael was arguing with another person outside an apartment unit where the girl and a 6-year-old boy resided. The girl opened the front door and asked them to move away from the door and to stop arguing, then went back inside.

Officials said Rafael then entered the apartment without permission and began confronting the girl. When she asked him to leave, he refused and grabbed her arm to prevent her from calling the police. A physical altercation between the two led outside the apartment, where Rafael reportedly pinned the girl against a patio railing, 30-50 feet above the ground, and choked her as he pushed her upper body over the rail.

According to Metro Police, the 6-year-old boy was also assaulted by Rafael during the altercation, resulting in red marks on his ear and neck. Authorities said the girl had injuries consistent with being choked.

Officers found Rafael near another building at the complex, and he led officers on a brief pursuit before he was stopped and handcuffed. He reportedly showed signs of being intoxicated, though he denied having consumed alcohol that day.

Rafael is charged with felony aggravated assault, felony especially aggravated burglary, felony aggravated assault with strangulation, misdemeanor criminal impersonation, misdemeanor public intoxication, misdemeanor resisting arrest and two counts of misdemeanor failure to appear.

He is being held in Metro Jail on a $114,000 bond.