MUKILTEO — Prosecutors have charged a Lynnwood man with first-degree assault in connection with an attack on a woman he tried to pay for sex.
Prosecutors allege that Roland Cole, 40, stabbed the woman in the back April 7 when she attempted to get out of his vehicle. She and Cole were arguing over money. He allegedly paid the woman $80 for a sex act but then demanded most of it back when the transaction wasn’t completed.
The woman initially thought that Cole punched her as she tried to get out of his vehicle, but she saw a bloodied knife in his hand. She collapsed on the sidewalk. Motorists came to her aid.
Police canvased nearby businesses, eventually finding video footage of the suspect’s vehicle. That led detectives to Cole, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter wrote in charging papers.
Cole allegedly admitted picking up the woman for sex but denied stabbing her.
If convicted as charged, Cole faces up to 12 years in prison. He remained jailed on $100,000 bail.
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