Salt Lake City cops seek suspect in brutal attack on woman

Salt Lake City police are asking the public's help in locating a man suspected of subjecting his girlfriend to a brutal, night-long ordeal of beatings and strangulation.

On May 8, Antonio Rafael Shropshire, 32, allegedly drove the victim — the mother of his child — to a parking lot and punched her repeatedly in the face, slammed her head into and broke the windshield, cut off her hair with scissors and then strangled her unconscious with a cellphone charging cord.

According to 3rd District Court documents supporting a second-degree felony aggravated assault charge, Shropshire also repeatedly threatened the victim, at one point saying, "I'm gonna put your body in a Dumpster."

The cord eventually broke, but the attacks and threats allegedly continued for hours at different locations, with the victim in and out of consciousness, prosecutors claim.

Finally, Shropshire drove to a residential area and ordered the woman out as he drove away. She was able to get help at one of the homes, police and paramedics responded and she was rushed to a hospital emergency room for treatment, court documents contend.

Police say the stolen car Shropshire allegedly was driving was later recovered, but he remains at large. An arrest warrant was issued on June 6.

Shropshire is described as black, 5-foot-9, and has a variety of aliases ranging from "Eight Ounce" and "Oz Eight" to "Tony Vargas."

Court records show the suspect has a long and violent criminal history stretching back to 2001. His rap sheet includes numerous assaults, burglary and firearms-related charges, as well of a continuing pattern of alleged domestic violence and child-support related violations.

SLCPD asks that anyone with information on Shropshire's whereabouts call 801-799-3000, or text anonymously to the keyword TIPSLCPD and CRIMES 274637.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims