East Lansing resident Samuel Roberts walks into the courtroom Tuesday at the 54-B District Court. His pretrial for the alleged assault of an MSU student is set to take place Dec. 3, 2013. Danyelle Morrow/The State News
The man accused of attacking an MSU student last month tried to harm himself during the assault and had a history of abuse, according to police.
Samuel Roberts, 22, of East Lansing, was arrested in the early morning on Oct. 19, for allegedly holding his ex-girlfriend at knifepoint in his apartment against her will and taking her cell phone when she tried to call for help.
MSU’s official faculty and student search database lists both Roberts and the victim as students.
Police reports obtained by The State News through a Freedom of Information Act request shows that Roberts attacked the victim previously, and often became abusive and violent while drinking. The victim told police she reported an earlier incident in 2012, when Roberts showed up to her parent’s house intoxicated and tried to strangle her.
Roberts was arraigned on Oct. 21 and was charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault with a dangerous weapon, interference with electronic communication and domestic violence.
The victim told police she went to visit Roberts between 2 and 2:30 a.m. Oct. 19 at his apartment on the 300 block of Grand River Avenue after going to a party with friends. She said she noticed he’d been drinking and said the two began arguing over commitment issues after he saw a text message from another man on her cell phone.
As the argument intensified, the victim said Roberts began taking painkillers and told her he wanted her to “watch him kill himself.” Roberts grabbed a green 8-inch kitchen knife and allegedly began stabbing the floor and surrounding walls, even holding the knife inches away from her face and threatening to slit her throat, reports said.
When the victim tried to escape, she said Roberts allegedly blocked the doorway and threw her into surrounding furniture, causing her to hit her head several times. He also threatened to throw her cell phone out the window when she tried to call a friend.
“He took my phone from me and was threatening to kill himself,” the victim said in her statement to police.
When he was questioned by police, Roberts denied attacking his ex-girlfriend and said he never threatened her. He said she became upset with him after he saw the text message on her cell phone and began hitting him in the face and chest.
East Lansing police Capt. Jeff Murphy told The State News in a previous interview that police responded to the scene at about 5:15 a.m. Roberts had a blood-alcohol level of .10 when he was arrested.
The victim had a blood-alcohol level of .02.
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