FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Pembroke Pines man accused of peeping into women's bedroom windows, and sometimes trying to force his way inside, is trying to get out of jail before his trial. But some of his alleged victims are trying to keep that from happening.
The prosecutor spent much of Wednesday afternoon trying to convince a judge not to grant Pelayo Cerulia, 43, bail.
According to Pembroke Pines police, Cerulia would approach the rear bedroom windows of the victims' homes and would look inside while masturbating.
"The police are not going to catch me. I watch you every night," detectives claim Cerulia told one of the victims.
Police said Cerulia looks for women with a caramel skin complexion and long dark hair. His victims have been in the communities of Windmill Lakes, Heron Pond and Gatehouse, and the Sunswept.
Pembroke Pines police said they set up cameras in the neighborhoods to catch Cerulia in action.
According to the state, Cerulia shot out one victim's windows with a slingshot and police found hunting rifles outside the home.
"What time of night, where they're sleeping, what they look like, what he uses and what he's doing and saying -- it is such a signature style that this is as good as a fingerprint," the prosecutor said.
But the defense questioned one accuser's reliability, citing her job at a strip club and maintaining that the man she is talking about is not Cerulia.
"My client cannot be confused with an Irish reddish-complected individual. It's just not the case," the defense attorney said.
Cerulia remains in jail at this time.