Man accused of breaking into ex's home while she was sleeping, threatening her with knife

WAUKESHA COUNTY -- A Racine man has been charged, accused of breaking into the home of his ex-girlfriend, and attacking her and a man at the home in New Berlin.

It happened early on Saturday, November 5th at an apartment building on S. Fountain Square Boulevard at West National Avenue.

24-year-old Nicholas Perrelle now faces the following eight charges:

According to a criminal complaint, early on Saturday, New Berlin police were notified of an attack by a man with a knife. Police met with the 911 caller, who indicated he was sleeping in bed with his girlfriend when they were woken up by Perrelle, who was standing over them in their bedroom.

The man told police Perrelle punched him in the face and chased him out of the bedroom, punching him again in the living room -- at which time the man noticed Perrelle was armed with a knife.

The man said Perrelle forced him out the front door of the apartment, and he then called police.

According to the complaint, Perrelle was yelling at the man's girlfriend, and while the man was talking with police, an object was thrown through the glass patio door and the door shattered -- as the man's girlfriend screamed for help.

The complaint states that as officers responded to the apartment, a Brookfield police officer along the perimeter noticed a man running away. He was ordered to stop, but continued running.

Police were able to make telephone contact with Perrelle, who told officers "he did not want to go back to jail" and "he was scared." Perrelle indicated he was lost, but declined to provide officers with any information as to his location. Eventually, Perrelle agreed to speak with officers in person.

Perrelle was arrested, and at the police department, two bottles of prescription medication were found on him. A preliminary breath test revealed a reading of .065 percent.

The female victim in this case told police she and Perrelle broke up about a month prior to this incident, after they began dating around April or May, and moved in together in July. The woman said Perrelle paid rent for a couple months, but eventually stopped paying, and after they broke up, he moved out.

The night of the incident, the woman told police she was out with friends and ran into Perrelle. According to the complaint, she said that after she forced her boyfriend out of the apartment, Perrelle "threw her to the ground" and "began to choke her multiple times." The woman said she was unable to breathe, and she screamed multiple times during this incident.

The woman said Perrelle "held a knife to her throat and said he was going to slit her throat if she continued screaming." She said Perrelle threatened to kill her.

The woman told police she was able to escape to the bathroom, where Perrelle again threw her down and called her "terrible names" -- at one point slamming her head against the wall.

The woman said she feared for her life, and believed she was going to be killed, according to the complaint.

At one point during this incident, Perrelle began touching her inappropriately, according to the complaint.

Eventually, the woman was able to escape the bathroom.

She said when Perrelle learned police were on scene, he ran from the apartment.

Police observed signs of forced entry to the apartment in this case.

Perrelle made his initial appearance in court in this case on November 7th. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for November 17th, and cash bond was set at $25,000.