Nashali Alma was able to fight off a man who tried to attack her in the gym.
Nashali Alma, a fitness model and NPC Wellness competitor, fought off a man who attacked her in the gym in her apartment complex in January. A frightening video, released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, shows Alma defending herself until the man backed off.
Alma was seen working out when she opened the door to let a man into the gym. Moments later, Xavier Thomas-Jones approached Alma and began touching her. The security footage shows Thomas-Jones aggressively pursuing Alma before she was able to fight him off.
“I said, ‘Bro, what the F are you doing? Get away from me. Stop trying to touch me.’ He started chasing me around the bench, and we ended up on the other side of the gym,” Alma said in the video.
FOX13 reported that the attacker lived at the complex. Nashali Alma was able to get to her feet and escape to another apartment. She called the police following the event and Thomas-Jones was arrested. He was caught after attempting to do the same to another woman the next day. As of Thursday, he remains in custody on charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment, burglary, and kidnapping.
Nashali Alma has competed in four NPC Bodybuilding shows over the last two years. This includes a championship in the Wellness division at the 2022 NPC Southern USA Championships.
Alma shared in the video that she continued to fight and thought about women who might be put in a similar position.
“As long as you fight back and show him that you’re strong and you’re not giving up, I believe it’s possible to escape.”
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