Man Broke Into Car, Threatened Victim With Knife Before Raping Her: Prosecutor

COBB COUNTY, GA — A 26-year-old Smyrna man faces prison time after he broke into a woman's car, held her at knifepoint and raped her before taking off with some of her personal belongings, the Cobb County District Attorney's Office said.

Around 5:40 a.m. Sept. 15, 2020, Patrick Anderson II knocked on the door of a woman's apartment off Lake View Lane. He asked her to use her phone to call roadside assistance, and though the woman didn't know him, she let him borrow her phone.

After he finished the call, he tried to force his way into her apartment, the DA's office said. She was able to push her door closed and lock him out.

However, she looked out the window and saw Anderson getting in the back seat of her neighbor's car just as she was getting in at the same time. The woman called 911 around 5:50 a.m.

The female victim, 22, got in the driver's seat and Anderson was able to slide in the back passenger seat before she could lock her doors. He took out a knife and told her to drive, according to prosecutors.

Anderson told her to park in front of a neighboring apartment building, climbed in the front seat, forced the victim to remove her clothes and sexually assaulted her, the DA's office said.

At the time of the assault, the victim was wearing an Apple Watch. She waited for a moment to call 911 from it without Anderson seeing, but said the dispatcher's voice was "loud enough for Anderson to hear it and freak out."

Anderson threw her watch on the ground and started looking around, asking what the call was about. She told him that it just answered an incoming call, and a few minutes later, another vehicle pulled up next to her car, prosecutors said.

Anderson searched for his knife but couldn't find it, got out of the car and took off with the victim's keys, wallet and Apple Watch. After he was out of sight, the victim called police to report the rape, which matched the neighbor's earlier call and description of Anderson.

The 26-year-old Smyrna man was found guilty of rape, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping and aggravated assault. Anderson's sentencing is set for March 3, presided by Cobb Superior Court Judge Jason D. Marbutt.