A Texarkana man has been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly raping a woman after injecting her with methamphetamine.
Michael Birdwell, 43, is charged with five counts of rape and one count of introduction of a controlled substance into the body of another in Miller County. He was arrested last week and made his first court appearance Monday.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Birdwell and another man went to a woman’s room at the Ramada hotel on State Line Avenue in Texarkana, Ark., on the evening of Feb. 29.
The two men were allegedly injecting methamphetamine and the woman consented to being injected with the drug by Birdwell. It is a crime to inject another person with a drug that has not been prescribed.
Birdwell allegedly attacked the woman after the other man left the room. Birdwell allegedly slammed the woman onto the bed and began ripping her clothes off.
Birdwell allegedly threatened to kill the woman if she did not stop fighting him. Birdwell allegedly slapped, bit and spit on the woman during the assault. The woman reported to police March 1 that Birdwell assaulted her from approximately 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Court records show Birdwell was arrested May 7. Bail was set at $250,000 at his initial court appearance May 11. Birdwell is scheduled to appear in court June 9.
