Deputies say woman called 911 pretending to order pizza, fearing she might be attacked by man

PIERSON, Florida. – According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, a man was arrested after a woman called 911 pretending to order pizza and reported she was concerned for her safety.

Deputies responded at approximately 3:43 a.m. on Oct. 19 after the sheriff’s office communications center received a 911 call from a woman trying to “order a pizza” – a known signal of distress. Upon arrival at the residence in Pierson, deputies searched the area and found a man, later identified as Luis Hernandez-Moncayo, lying on top of a woman.

Deputies separated him from the woman, who appeared “very distraught,” they said. The arrest report says she told deputies that Hernandez-Moncayo was trying to commit sexual assault.

The victim, whose name is covered by Marsy’s Law, later calmed down and told deputies that she and Hernandez-Moncayo were friends and had agreed to spend time together. She said his behavior changed after drinking alcohol and, feeling unsafe, she called 911 under the pretense of ordering a pizza to avoid arousing suspicion.

She told deputies that Hernandez-Moncayo grabbed her, threw her to the ground and attempted to sexually assault her three times, and choked her twice during the attack. She managed to defend herself briefly, but she told the officers that he overpowered her again, exposed her and tried to attack her.

“Not only was it terrifying, but deputies came into it and this woman was hysterical,” said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. “You just think as a father, ‘What if that was my daughter?'”

The woman refused transport to the hospital, and deputies said she showed no visible signs of injury.

When questioned by deputies, Hernandez-Moncayo stated that the meeting was consensual.

He was arrested and charged with battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and attempted sexual battery. He was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail.

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