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Nightmare on Cooper Street: Suspect bites off part of man's face, police say

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man is accused of biting a chunk out of a security guard’s face after breaking into a local music studio.

The story sounds like something out of a horror movie. It features creepy text messages, a sudden knock at the door, and an alleged attack by a stranger.

Corlandt Northcross is charged with aggravated assault and burglary. He was arrested after an incident at Cooper Young music studio on March 14.

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When officers arrived to the music studio, they said they saw the man, Northcross, sitting outside talking on a cell phone. When police began talking to him, the victim ran out of the front door with his face covered in blood. He was screaming that Northcross broke into the business and attacked him, according to a police affidavit.

Officers said Northcross uttered “I did…I broke into the [expletive] house.” Police said Northcross claimed to own the property because the previous owner left it to him.

The victim told police he works overnight security for the business. He told police Northcross came in two days before the attack and said he was homeless. According to the affidavit, the victim gave the man some beef jerky and allowed him to stay until he began talking to himself.

Northcross came back the next day, but the victim didn’t allow him inside, police said.

The day of the attack, the victim began getting strange text messages from an unknown number. He copied a signature from the texts into a Google search, which led him to an Instagram profile that looked like it belonged to Northcross, according to police.

In the messages, the sender claimed to own the property that houses the music studio. There were also threats to kill the victim and police, if they were called, according to the affidavit.

The messages finally stopped, and the security guard fell asleep on the couch. He woke up to someone banging on the door.

Seconds later, a window shattered and Northcross crawled into the business, police said. The victim ran upstairs and locked himself in a room.

After several minutes, the victim went downstairs because he thought the person was gone. He was wrong, and the attack ensued, according to police documents.

The two men fell onto the floor, at which point the alleged attacker began biting the victim’s face, chest and stomach, police said. The victim was eventually able to get up and force the person out the front door.

Officers noted that the victim had a “gaping wound” on his left cheek and multiple bite wounds to his chest and torso.

Inside the business, police found blood and “what appeared to be the missing chunk of the victim’s cheek” on the floor.

The victim was taken to the hospital in non-critical condition. Northcross was arrested.