Arkansas man gets 12 years for box cutter attack

An Arkansas man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for attacking a colleague with a box cutter outside a Cape Girardeau hotel.

Robert L. Brewer, 40, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, pleaded guilty in October to first-degree assault in connection with the case.

Earlier this month, Cape Girardeau County Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis sentenced Brewer to 12 years in prison for the Aug. 7 attack.

Because Brewer is considered a dangerous offender, he must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, meaning he will not be eligible for release until 2025.

A probable-cause statement filed by Cpl. Bryan Blanner of the Cape Girardeau Police Department says officers arrived at Drury Lodge, 104 Vantage Drive, to find the victim bleeding from several one-half to one-inch-deep lacerations.

The victim said he and Brewer -- who were in Cape Girardeau to complete a roofing job -- had gotten into an argument on the way back from a trip to The Pony nightclub in East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, and when they got back to the hotel, Brewer attacked him with a folding box cutter, Blanner wrote.

Brewer said he cut the victim in self-defense after being placed in a choke hold, but the victim's injuries were not consistent with that claim, Blanner wrote.

Pertinent address:

104 Vantage Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO