CENTRALIA — A Centralia man sleeping in his bed early New Year’s Day suffered a shocking awakening when he was allegedly yanked from his bed by a stranger who began choking him and threatening to kill him.

According to Centralia police, 41-year-old Braulio Romero was arrested on charges of home invasion, aggravated battery including strangling, criminal trespass to a residence and battery.

Officers responded around 4:35 a.m. January 1, to the Library Apartments on South Sycamore on a report of an intoxicated man trying to go into apartments and fight people.

When officers arrived, a woman came up to them and told them the problem was in apartment 309. Officers found two men inside the apartment, one was the resident and one was not.

The resident said he had no idea who the other man was. The female who met officers said she was inside the apartment when Romero burst into the apartment. She’d never met the man and ran out of the apartment to call 9-1-1.

The resident refused medical treatment and Romero was taken to the Marion County Jail. He was formally charged Tuesday in Marion County Court with Class X felony home invasion causing injury, Class 3 felony aggravated battery involving strangling, Class 4 felony criminal trespass, and misdemeanor battery. Bond was set in the case at $100,000.