Prosecutors Considered Charges Against Suspect in Stabbing of Pregnant Woman Prior to Attack

A man who allegedly attacked a pregnant woman at a drive-thru ATM in Mira Mesa pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that include attempted murder.

Cole Klemke, 27, is accused of using a knife to wound the victim – who is four months pregnant – at around 10 a.m. Saturday near the Target store on Mira Mesa Boulevard.

Klemke was arrested one day after the stabbing. He remains in custody without bail following the Thursday afternoon arraignment, which included two other charges that had been under review by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office at the time of Saturday’s attack.

Deputy District Attorney Spencer Sharpe alleged that Klemke watched the woman for about a minute from across the parking lot as she pulled up to the ATM and exited her vehicle in order to reach the machine.

After she withdrew cash, the prosecutor said Klemke walked up to her and began a “premeditated and unprovoked attack,” leaving her with knife wounds to her face and a slice to her throat.

The suspect then pushed her to the ground and continued his attempts to stab her. Sharpe said the victim was able to fight Klemke off and he fled the scene. Surveillance footage captured the entire encounter.

San Diego police said the woman and her assailant did not exchange any words before the attack.

Sharpe declined to discuss the victim’s condition as of Thursday, but said she’s since been released from a hospital. Police said Saturday that she was treated and released the day of the incident.

Klemke faces a sentence of nearly 15 years to life in state prison if convicted of all charges. Along with attempted murder, he’s charged with mayhem and robbery in connection with the stabbing.

He’s also charged with felony vandalism and brandishing a knife in connection with a separate incident that allegedly occurred two weeks before the stabbing.

Sharpe said that on June 1, Klemke accosted a man who was driving to work. The prosecutor said Klemke stood in front of the man’s vehicle, carved an X on the car’s hood with a knife, and demanded the driver get out of his car, but he drove off.

Klemke was arrested in connection with that alleged incident, but the case remained under review by the District Attorney’s Office when the stabbing happened, Sharpe said.

Court documents indicate that family members also had sought a restraining order against Klemke, citing incidents of violent threats against his parents. The documents state that family members urged him to get treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues, but Klemke refused.

– City News Service