Inset: Robert J. Rhoades (Tulsa Police Dept.). Background: Rhoades being arrested after allegedly slicing a woman’s throat (TPD).
A 42-year-old man in Oklahoma has been arrested after he allegedly slashed the throat of a woman riding a city bus in Tulsa in what has been described by authorities as an unprovoked attack.
Robert J. Rhoades was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of false impersonation, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Tulsa Police Department, officers at about 1:09 p.m. on Sunday responded to a report of a stabbing incident that took place at a bus station in the 300 block of S. Cheyenne Avenue.
Police said officers in the area said that witnesses alerted them to an adult male suspect seen leaving the scene on foot and “provided a direction of travel.” Officers patrolling the area on bicycles immediately began searching for the suspect — later identified as Rhoades — and were able to locate him a short while later at 100 S. Denver Avenue where he was taken into custody without incident.
Police said there was “visible blood” on Rhoades’ clothing and that a “bloody knife” was recovered from his pocket during a search of his person.
The victim was rushed to a local hospital. Her injuries were so severe that detectives from the department’s Homicide Unit were called to the scene.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
“Witnesses, including the bus driver, informed us that both Rhoades and the 43-year-old female victim boarded the bus at the Walmart stop on 81st and Lewis,” police wrote in the release. “Rhoades sat directly behind her, and they had no prior interactions or verbal exchanges. As the bus arrived at the main station, Rhoades reached around and allegedly assaulted the victim by slicing her throat before leaving the scene.”
The victim underwent emergency surgery for her injuries. The doctors who operated on her told authorities that she was stabilized and that they were “hopeful” she would make a full recovery.
Investigators said they are also waiting for security footage from a camera that was located inside the bus.
In addition to the charges, Rhoades is also being held on a fugitive from justice warrant out of Missouri, police said.
He is in custody at the Tulsa County Jail without bond, records show.
It was not immediately clear when Rhoades was scheduled to make his first appearance in court.
