A 22-year-old Santa Rosa man faces a life prison term after pleading guilty to the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend in the vicious attack last fall that nearly ended her life the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said.
Miguel Angel Ruiz-Figueroa also pleaded guilty to kidnapping in the Sept. 10 assault, in which he choked the 19-year-old woman until she passed out, then slit her throat and stabbed her eight times in the chest and abdomen.
Prosecutors and police said Ruiz-Figueroa went to the south Santa Rosa apartment complex near Kawana Springs Road where the victim's boyfriend lived and sent a text message to her that he wanted certain belongings.
When she met him in the parking lot, he attacked, dragging her behind a parked car, where she was left bleeding with life-threatening wounds, police said.
A nearby resident happened to find her and summoned police. The victim was able to tell authorities who had stabbed her, and Ruiz-Figueroa was stopped and arrested in his car a short time later.
Under a plea negotiation, he is to serve combined sentences of nine years and 7-years-to-life imprisonment.
"That the victim survived is a testament to her courage," District Attorney Jill Ravitch said in a written statement.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 20.
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