Young mom recounts frightening South Burlington home invasion

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) It's one of the most personal invasions of privacy. A South Burlington mother described the terrifying moments when she discovered a stranger inside her apartment.

Pregnant mom Samantha Desorcie says she was terrified Monday afternoon when she woke up from a nap. "From the view of my son's bedroom, I looked over and I could see a hand," Desorcie said.

That hand belonged to an alleged intruder who Desorcie spotted laying on her living room floor. She says she told him to leave, but he refused and instead came charging towards her. "Just instantly I got really scared, and I started swearing, 'Get out of my house. You need to get up, you need to go,'" she screamed.

The young mother's husband was at work. She locked the bedroom door to protect herself and her two-year-old son, Connor. "Just keep him safe. That's all I could think of was don't let this man in this room because you don't know what he's capable of," she said.

Desorcie did not have her cell phone to call for help, but tried to get it when she heard a door open, thinking the strange man had left. "I grabbed my phone and I noticed my back door was open, and then I see legs on my futon," she said.

That's where police say they found 64-year-old Scott Stevens, who allegedly told authorities he was intoxicated and had consumed hash.

At his court arraignment Tuesday for a felony charge of unlawful trespass, Stevens had difficulty communicating with his court-appointed defense attorney. His lawyer wanted him to be released, but Deputy State's Attorney Andrew McFarlin argued for bail, citing a prior record of 21 failures to appear in court. "The fact that he is currently transient, and it appears consuming alcohol and hash, gives the state strong concerns about his ability to appear," he said.

Desorcie says Stevens managed to get in because the lock didn't work. She wasn't physically harmed, but she says she her sense of security was shattered. "Just always be sure because this world is honestly getting to the point where the things you see on TV are very real," she said.

Stevens refused Tuesday's video arraignment and did not enter a plea -- he is expected to appear in-person in court Wednesday. For now, he remains behind bars after a judge set bail at $2,000 cash.

Meanwhile, Desorcie says she and her family no longer feel safe at their apartment and plan to move soon.