Man who used box cutter to attack South San Francisco hotel clerk found guilty of attempted murder

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – A 24-year-old man has been found guilty of attempted murder with premeditation in connection with a brutal attack on a South San Francisco hotel desk clerk in 2020, prosecutors said.

In addition to the attempted murder charge, a jury on Wednesday convicted Robert Allen Midell Jr. of assault with a deadly weapon and burglary, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Officers were called to Hotel V on the 200 block of South Airport Boulevard around 8:15 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2020, for a report of a person beating up a desk clerk.

Prosecutors said a South San Francisco police officer arrived to find Midell on top of the clerk and attacking him.

The officer tried to pull Midell off the clerk, but Midell continued to attack the clerk even after the officer hit him with a baton and shot him with a stun gun, according to the district attorney’s office. Midell eventually let go of the clerk after the officer used pepper spray on him.

The clerk suffered injuries to the face, as well as numerous puncture and bite wounds to the chest and an arm.

Prosecutors said Midell used a box cutter and pens to attack the clerk, who had evicted him earlier for not paying his bill.

Midell was also charged with felony assault on an executive officer, but Judge Lisa A. Novak granted a defense motion for acquittal on Tuesday. Novak ruled correctional officers are not executive officers, according to the district attorney’s office.

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