Arkansas man charged in stabbing at Cape Girardeau hotel

An Arkansas man is in custody after a stabbing that left another man in stable condition with lacerations to his face, throat, shoulder and arm, Cape Girardeau police reported Friday.

Robert L. Brewer, 40, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, is accused of attacking a colleague with a box cutter after a verbal altercation Thursday night at Drury Lodge, 104 Vantage Drive.

A probable-cause statement filed by Cpl. Bryan Blanner of the Cape Girardeau Police Department states that police arrived at the hotel shortly after 11:30 p.m. to find the victim holding a blood-soaked towel to the left side of his face and neck, with his entire chest and back covered in blood.

Robert Brewer

The victim had a laceration across his neck; another from the left side of his mouth to beyond his left ear; a four-inch-long laceration to his right shoulder; and a six-inch-long laceration to his left thigh, all one-half to one inch deep, Blanner wrote.

The victim told Blanner he, Brewer and several other people who worked for Jonesboro Roofing Co. had been in Cape Girardeau to complete a roofing job, according to Blanner's statement.

The victim said he, Brewer and two other men decided to go to the Pony strip club in East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, after work, but he and Brewer got into an argument on the way back, Blanner wrote.

"[The victim] indicated that once he stopped the vehicle, Brewer exited the vehicle, approached and opened the driver-side door, took a folding box cutter from his pocket and began wildly slashing at [the victim], cutting him in the mouth, throat, thigh and the right shoulder when he ... attempted to move away from Brewer," Blanner wrote.

The other men in the vehicle confirmed the victim's account of events, according to the probable-cause statement.

Brewer waived his Miranda rights and eventually admitted to cutting the victim, saying he did so in an effort to "get him off of me" after the victim punched him and placed him in a choke hold, Blanner wrote.

Blanner noted in the probable-cause statement that Brewer's version of events was inconsistent with the victim's injuries -- some of which would have been impossible to inflict while in a choke hold -- and Brewer had no visible injuries to his face or neck that would corroborate his claim the victim had hit and choked him.

Brewer, who was found in a hotel room and arrested without incident shortly after police arrived at the scene, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection with the case, Hickey said in an email Friday.

The victim had surgery early Friday morning but was in stable condition, Hickey said.

He said Brewer was in Cape Girardeau police custody Friday afternoon, awaiting transport to the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.