SALISBURY — A man has been arrested after deputies said that he climbed into a tree to escape arrest after attempting to break into a home on Sunday.

The incident began at approximately 4:30 a.m. at a home on Peach Orchard Lane, when the couple that were home heard a loud banging noise outside and went to check on it, said Chief Deputy Jason Owen, a spokesperson for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. When they looked outside, the couple noticed a man walking around their property.

The man then allegedly broke into their screened-in patio area before beginning to bang loudly on the door to the building. The residents then called 911, at which point the man left the patio before climbing up a tree in an attempt to escape, said Owens.

When deputies arrived on scene, they reportedly attempted to negotiate with the man to get him to come down on his own before eventually calling the fire department to bring out a ladder. During the deputies’ conversations with the man, he said that he did not believe that they were real but eventually came down on his own after several minutes, said Owens.

Deputies then reportedly arrested the man, who was identified as 38-year-old Jose Alfredo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was charged with felony first-degree burglary and misdemeanor injury to real property. He was placed in the Rowan County Detention Center and was not given a bond, according to online jail records.