A Cobb County man was convicted on multiple charges, including rape and kidnapping, for sexually assaulting a woman at knifepoint in her car at her own apartment complex early one morning in September 2020, officials said.
Patrick Anderson II, 26, of Smyrna, was found guilty by a jury of rape, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping and aggravated assault, Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. said in a news release Wednesday. Anderson’s sentencing hearing will be held March 3.
According to the DA’s Office, the case against Anderson began Sept. 15, 2020, around 5:40 a.m. when he knocked on a woman’s door at a Cobb apartment complex and asked to use her phone to call for roadside assistance. The woman allowed him to use her phone, but after Anderson ended the call, he tried to force his way into her apartment. The woman, who was not harmed, was able to push her door closed and lock Anderson out.
At 5:45 a.m., the victim in the case, a 22-year-old woman living at the same apartment complex, left her unit and got into her car, Broady said. The first woman, who was on the phone with 911, told the dispatcher she could see Anderson getting into the back seat of her neighbor’s car.
Once Anderson was in the car with the victim, he brandished a knife and told her to drive away, Broady said. Eventually, he had her park in front of a neighboring apartment building. Once they were parked, Anderson climbed into the front seat and ordered the woman to take off her clothes. He then sexually assaulted her, Broady said.
While she was being assaulted, the woman waited for an opportunity to use her Apple Watch to call 911 from her wrist, Broady said. An emergency dispatcher answered, but their voice was “loud enough for Anderson to hear it and freak out,” the woman said during the trial.
Anderson threw the watch on the ground and began questioning the woman about the call, Broady said. She denied that she made a call to 911 and said she must have accidentally answered an incoming call. During the dispute, another car pulled up alongside them, causing Anderson to begin looking for his knife, which he could not find. After not finding the knife, he left with the woman’s keys, wallet and watch.
The woman’s description of Anderson to authorities matched the first woman’s description, Broady said. In his news release, the DA praised the victim’s resilience during such a traumatizing incident involving a deadly weapon.
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