She woke up to the sound of burglars ransacking her Bushwick apartment.
She managed to slink under her bed covers and call 911.
Katherine Garcia was alone in her apartment that night.
She says by the grace of God her 7-year-old son was staying with a babysitter because she was supposed to work the night before.
"This is how I sleep. You can't tell I'm here. I have a pillow here," Garcia said.
Katherine Garcia may be petite, but what she lacks in size, she certainly makes up in courage.
"I peaked through the pillow here. He was grabbing my iPad and he had a knife in his hands," Garcia said.
The 23-year-old Brooklyn mom called out sick to her bartending job Saturday night.
Katherine woke up to two men ransacking her apartment around 5:15 a.m. on Sunday.
One suspect came within inches of her but didn't notice that she was hiding underneath a large comforter and about to call the police.
"I said hurry up, but don't make any noise, because they will kill me," Garcia said.
Then Katherine recognized one of the two voices in her Cooper Street apartment.
47-year-old Derney Garcia, a man she says she helped out in a pinch by offering him food and the chance to make some cash by cleaning her home.
He was someone she considered to be a friend.
"Derney is standing right here the other guy is over there. I'm like, how did you get in my house!" Garcia said.
She says the men stole her wallet, two lap tops, an e-reader, iPad, iPhone, jewelry, and a camera.
Cops also found other people's credit cards, watches, and designer sunglasses.
But it was Katherine who made sure they couldn't get away.
"When I go outside the cops are already outside. I grabbed him by the hoodie and said this is the guy who robbed me. Derney was chasing me with a knife," Garcia said, "If the cops showed up a minute or two later, God knows what would have happened to me."
Police arrested Derney Garcia and 37-year-old Carlos Lopez.
Even though Katherine has changed the locks and bought a new front door, she still doesn't feel safe.
"I trusted this guy. He knew my apartment, where everything was, and he knew when I worked," Garcia said, "I have a phobia to be in this place. I don't feel safe."
