Man sentenced to 433 years for throat slashings, robberies

A homeless man who went on a crime rampage in downtown Long Beach that included slashing two women’s throats was sentenced Monday to 11 life terms and 433 years in prison.

Charles Juan Proctor, 45, was convicted this month of 22 counts including attempted murder, kidnapping for robbery and mayhem. He was accused of robbing various Long Beach businesses and one in Hawaiian Gardens for cash ranging from $35 to about $700, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Rose.

In the process, Proctor threatened, slashed, stabbed or strangled six female shop owners, according to Rose. All of the victims survived.

The prosecution alleged that Proctor left a 1/4-inch-wide gash on one woman’s throat. In another incident, he stuck a knife into a woman’s throat and turned it when she resisted, then repeatedly slashed her face, Rose said.

“Each of the victims in his path was shown to be in complete and utter terror of his attack,� Rose wrote in court papers.

The victims, of varying age and race, were attacked in beauty salons, a clothing boutique and a bridal shop. The incidents occurred between February and May 2008, most of them on consecutive days in late April.

The crimes were linked to Proctor through DNA he left on a cellphone case at one of the crime scenes, according to Rose. The genetic material was matched to Proctor’s records in Nevada, where he had been arrested and convicted for assaulting a woman with a box cutter in a Hooter’s parking lot in Las Vegas in 2007, Rose said.

Proctor will serve nine years in Nevada prison for his conviction there, then return to California for the rest of his terms.

Victims spoke at Proctor’s sentencing, saying they continue to be haunted and traumatized by the attacks. One woman said she suffers from “daymares,� Rose said.

Proctor’s defense attorney, deputy public defender Thomas Tyler, declined to comment.

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