GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The man who was charged in connection with the East River Trail attack that left one woman injured in De Pere was in Brown County Court on Friday, where he learned his sentence.
18-year-old Miles Cruz will spend the next 42 and a half years behind bars, followed by 22 and a half years of extended supervision.
Cruz previously pleaded no contest to:
- First Degree Sexual Assault/Great Bodily Harm
- Felony
- Kidnapping/Carry w/o Consent
- Felony
- Strangulation and Suffocation
- Felony
- Second Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety
- Felony
The judge also dismissed the charge for Attempt First Degree Intentional Homicide, although it was still read in.
According to the criminal complaint, on October 5, 2021, a woman and her baby were walking along the East River Trail when Cruz allegedly put a sweatshirt over the woman’s head, pulling her backward and causing her to fall on the blacktop.
The woman was able to fight back, but Cruz then allegedly choked her until she lost all consciousness. She regained consciousness in the woods without her shoes and pants, and her baby was no longer in the black wrap that was around her.
According to the woman, the suspect, who was reportedly still on top of her, began choking her again, causing her to lose consciousness for a second time.
After regaining consciousness for a second time, the woman said the suspect was gone. Police located the woman and her baby shortly after.
Officers with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office took, at the time, 17-year-old Cruz into custody after noticing he had dirt stains on his pants and grass remnants on his shirt and in his hair.
The complaint said DNA samples from Cruz’s clothes were able to tie him to the incident.
