EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story stated that the suspect was arrested for sexual assault. He was later charged with assault with the intent to commit "mayhem, rape, sodomy or oral copulation." This was not, legally speaking, a sexual assault since the witnesses intervened before a sexual act was committed. Our story has since been updated to reflect that distinction.
SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — San Diego police are investigating an attempted sexual assault in Mission Beach that reportedly occurred just before 9 a.m. Sunday morning.
The suspect - 40-year-old Philemon Shark - was taken into custody accused of attacking a woman in an alley near Mission Boulevard and Tangiers Court, according to police.
The victim - a 24-year-old woman - said she was walking in the alley when Shark allegedly assaulted her at about 8:45 a.m.
The suspect allegedly threw her to the ground and held her down while he assaulted her, according to San Diego police Lt. Jason Weeden.
The woman screamed for help, and several residents forced the man off her.
Police arrived and set up a perimeter then began an intense door-to-door search.
A woman and her husband and newborn baby were in a nearby rental when they saw police swarm the area.
The woman's husband who happens to be an active Navy Seal said he spotted Shark hiding in the hallway of their rental complex near Queenstown Court.
The Navy Seal then went into the hall armed with a kitchen knife and using the flashlight on his phone. The suspect took off running as the man gave chase. Luckily cops were nearby and apprehended Shark a short time later.
After taking the man into custody, officers brought over the victim and several witnesses to confirm he was the suspect involved in the alleged sexual assault.
Shark was booked onto San Diego Central Jail on multiple felony sexual assault charges and outstanding arrest warrants from Washington State, according to Weeden. Shark is from the Seattle area and was believed to have been living in San Diego for the last few months.
The condition of the victim was unknown.