For 6 Months, He Allegedly Watched His Ex Sleep — with a Sledgehammer Nearby and a Chilling Plan in Mind, Say Police

Authorities in Florida arrested a man after he allegedly confessed to watching his ex-girlfriend sleep for months while plotting to attack her and her father.

Jalen Vallejos, 20, is now facing a number of charges including aggravated stalking, criminal mischief, burglary and loitering after being picked up by a deputy with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday just before midnight, according to a copy of a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

The deputy says he initiated a “consensual encounter” with Vallejos after driving by the young man in “a dark-colored hoodie with the hood up” and “using both hands to obscure his face from view,” per the complaint.

He is also seen wearing multiple shirts under his hoodie and jeans as well as a black ski mask that is rolled up like a hat in body cam footage of the encounter obtained by PEOPLE.

When asked why he is wearing so many layers, he tells the deputy that it “gets kind of cold out,” despite the temperature being 76°F at the time.

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Vallejos also allegedly had a pocketknife and was covered in “hitchhiker weeds and brush” on his clothes and shoes, the complaint said, “suggesting he had recently walked through thick vegetation off the sidewalk.”

The deputy ultimately made the decision to detain Vallejo after learning he had a lock-picking tool, writing in the complaint that there had been an uptick in car thefts in the area.

Vallejos was then asked why he had a knife, a ski mask and a lock-picking tool, at which point he tells the deputy on body cam footage that he planned to break into his ex’s home.

He was then placed under arrest.

After being taken into custody, the arresting deputy alleged that Vallejos told him about a backpack in the car he had driven to his ex’s neighborhood that night which contained “duct tape (to cover security cameras), wire snips (to cut camera wires), black spray paint (to vandalize the garage, as he had previously done in a prior incident), three sets of wire cutters and pliers (to use if needed), and a sledgehammer.”

Vallejos allegedly said that he planned to walk to his ex’s home that night, pick the lock on her back gate, watch her sleep and then return to the car and get his backpack, according to the complaint.

When the deputy asked why he needed the sledgehammer, Vallejos allegedly responded that he planned to use it to break down his ex’s front door and then “defend himself” against her father.

Vallejos allegedly said he planned to harm the father but “didn’t know” if he planned to harm his ex, according to the complaint. The deputy said he then directly asked Vallejos if he planned to harm or kill his ex, at which point the young man allegedly told him, “yeah, eventually.”

The deputy then contacted Vallejos’ ex, who said that the two had broken up six months ago after dating for over two years, according to the complaint.

Both the ex and her father told the deputy they feared for their lives after being informed of Vallejos’ plan, and said they did wish to file criminal charges against the young man.

Vallejos is now being held at the Volusia County Jail on no bond due to the aggravated stalking charge, according to jail records.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood praised the deputy who first stopped Vallejos at a press conference on Monday. He then commented on the suspect’s actions and contents of his backpack, saying: “I mean, that’s got all the signs to me that somebody’s getting killed.”