'It Was Terrifying': 'NCIS' Star Pauley Perrette On Seeing Alleged Attacker In Court
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — "NCIS" star Pauley Perrette on Sunday recalled the terror she felt as she came face-to-face with the homeless man accused of attacking her on a sidewalk last month.
The encounter came at a court appearance last week for the suspect, 45-year-old David Merck, who was charged with felony battery for allegedly assaulting Perrette outside of her Hollywood Hills home on Nov. 12.
"He punched me in the face and he pinned me down by my arm," Perrette told Entertainment Tonight after the alleged attack. "He told me he was going to kill me several times."
The star said the suspect only let her go after she prayed her heart out. Then she went into shock and collapsed on the sidewalk, where she was found by a neighbor.
Paulette said she was unprepared for how scared she would be at the court appearance.
"Even though I was surrounded by security and sheriffs and a full courtroom of people, in that moment I may as well have been alone on that sidewalk with him again," she told Entertainment Tonight on a red carpet on Sunday.
Pauley also noted that she wants local officials to do more to help homeless people, who she feels are largely neglected.
"I'm not the person who gets homeless people arrested," she said. "I'm the person who gives them clothes."
