A Riverside man is recalling the frightening moment a stranger repeatedly tried to kick his way inside his family's home.
Thursday, March 5, 2026 2:24AMA Riverside family says a frightening encounter with a stranger left their security door bent and damaged after a man repeatedly tried to kick his way inside their home Sunday night.
"That is when I start hearing him kicking on the door... pounding this door down trying to kick it down," Catota said.At first, Catota said his mother thought it might be a friend playing a prank.When Riverside police officers arrived and viewed the family's doorbell camera video, Catota said they recognized the man and asked the family an unusual question. "They asked if we knew or were friends with any Jewish people because this guy has a history of harassing people of that faith," Catota said. The family later posted video of the encounter to social media, where people online helped identify the man as 34-year-old Saad Ali Patel. Sources familiar with the case tell Eyewitness News Patel allegedly harassed a Jewish synagogue last year and demanded to see its rabbi. It is unclear whether that incident is connected to a 2025 felony stalking case involving a hate-crime enhancement. Court records show Patel has several prior cases in Riverside County, including a 2021 conviction for violating a domestic violence restraining order. He was also convicted of disobeying a court order, and another harassment case remains pending. As for why Patel showed up at the Catota family's home, they later discovered it may not have been random.The discovery came after Catota shared the incident on social media. "He clearly needs help that he's not getting. He's not in his right mind, I don't feel like," he said. Riverside police say Patel was arrested again Tuesday night and is being held on $1 million bail but because of federal medical privacy laws they could not release additional details about the charges.
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