A man has been arrested for allegedly trying to steal a woman's phone in an elementary school's parking lot on Monday morning in Peoria.
Police say at 6 a.m. they responded to a report of an attempted armed robbery at Coyote Hills Elementary after a woman was approached by a knife-wielding man, later identified as 47-year-old Kenneth Novotny, demanded her phone.
The victim did not give up her phone and left the area on a bicycle.
Police later received calls about a man who was running through backyards in a neighborhood near where Novotny tried to take the woman's phone.
Officials say the suspect tried to enter a home and attempted to steal a bicycle. He also reportedly entered a home where the residents confronted him.
Officers arrived and conducted a search in the area where a K-9 unit was able to track the scent to a home near 83rd Avenue and Deer Valley Road.
Police entered the home and were able to get Novotny to come out of a room where he was hiding in and took him into custody without incident.
Novotny was taken to the hospital for evaluation and will be booked into jail following his release.
Police say Novotny is expected to face charges of attempted armed robbery, trespassing and burglary.
Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to call Peoria police.
