MINNEAPOLIS - The man accused of stabbing a woman in a downtown parking ramp in April was indicted by a grand jury Thursday for multiple charges including attempted first degree sexual conduct and could receive a life sentence.
According to the criminal complaint, Robert John Meyers, 48, put a knife to a woman's throat and told her "they were going for a ride," the original police report said. The woman resisted and bit Meyers' finger.
Meyers was arrested later that day after allegedly stealing a woman's purse from a downtown bar.
"Serious crime downtown is rare, but when it occurs we and the police move quickly," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement. "In this case, a thorough investigation discovered Meyers had done this before in another state. When sex offenders assault someone again, we throw the book at them."
Further investigation revealed a 2002 conviction for criminal sexual conduct in Iowa, similar to the April attack in Minneapolis. Prosecutors then were able to seek an indictment from the grand jury that would result in life without prison if Meyers is convicted.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office says the first degree sexual conduct charge carries a life sentence because the offense involved great bodily harm and defendant has a prior criminal sexual conduct conviction.
The grand jury also indicted Meyers on one count of first degree assault and one count of attempted kidnapping in connection with the April parking ramp incident.
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