Man raped and kidnapped woman near Cedar Lake in Minneapolis before stealing her car, indictment says

NOTE: This story contains graphic details related to sexual assault.

MINNEAPOLIS — A 31-year-old man faces more than 100 years in prison for raping a woman at knifepoint near a Minneapolis lake on Friday, then kidnapping her, forcing her to buy him food and finally stealing her car.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Eliezer Rodriguez of Minneapolis is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual misconduct and one count each of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree auto theft.

According to the indictment, Rodriguez first attacked the victim near Cedar Lake and dragged her into a wooded area. He then choked her, threatened to stab her and sexually assaulted her.

The victim told police that Rodriguez then forced her to drive him around before raping her again in a Minneapolis parking garage, the charges say.

Rodriguez then allegedly asked the victim to drive through the McDonald’s drive-thru on East Lake Street and buy him something to eat.

Rodriguez then allegedly drove uptown, pulled out a syringe and told the victim “he had something to do,” the charges state. As he approached the victim with the needle, she escaped from the vehicle and ran away. The victim soon received assistance from a witness as Rodriguez drove away in her vehicle.

The complaint states that police said the victim was covered in scratches and that she also told officers that Rodriguez had a tattoo near his left eye.

On Saturday, police spotted the victim’s vehicle at a rest stop more than three hours northwest near Fergus Falls. Witnesses told police that the driver “was acting suspiciously at the rest stop and asking people for money or a ride,” the complaint states.

Officers soon found Rodriguez and arrested him. They said he had a tattoo next to his left eye and apparent defensive scratches on his bicep and lower body, the complaint states.

The victim identified Rodriguez on Monday from a photo lineup, and surveillance video from the McDonald’s on East Lake Street showed her passenger wearing pants with a tear near the left knee, similar to the pants he was wearing when he was arrested.

Rodriguez’s bail was set at $500,000. If convicted, he faces up to 120 years in prison.