Man on parole choked woman in elevator of downtown Lincoln parking garage, police say

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A woman was attacked Wednesday night in a parking garage elevator in downtown Lincoln, police say.

It happened about 7 p.m. at the Cornhusker Square Garage at 12th and L streets, according to court documents.

A woman on the third floor got in and pressed the button to go to the first floor.

But police said 45-year-old Joshua Love was already inside, and after the woman entered, he pressed the button for the fourth floor.

As the elevator went up, he asked her for sexual favors, according to an arrest affidavit.

Police said at one point, he told he would hurt her if she called for help. The affidavit says he showed her a can of pepper spray and began pulling a piece of rope out of his backpack.

When the elevator arrived on the fourth floor, the woman got out and looked around for help, but no one was there.

Love continued to proposition her, according to the affidavit, but the woman kept asking him to let her go.

She ran back into the elevator, where she said Love choked her and grabbed her breasts, buttocks and genitals.

The elevator went down to the second floor, where court documents say a bystander heard screaming, banging and rustling.

He told police he hit the elevator button and pried open the doors.

Love ran past him, police said, but officers found and arrested him a block away.

His backpack was found at the adjacent Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel, according to the affidavit.

Investigators said it was holding several rolls of rope, duct tape, a mismatched pair of gloves and two syringes, one of which contained cocaine.

Love was charged with first-degree false imprisonment, assault by strangulation, possession of a controlled substance and being a habitual criminal.

He was also arrested on suspicion of violating parole, according to the Lancaster County Jail website.

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services records say Love was serving a 12- to 23-year sentence for theft, second-degree false imprisonment and terroristic threats.

It’s not clear how long he had been out.

On Thursday, a judge set his bond at $750,000.

He is scheduled to be back in court on July 11.