Man gets life in prison for attempting to kill cab driver

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A southern Illinois man has been sentenced to life in prison for a knife attack in 2018, the fourth violent attack he has been convicted of since 1984.

Arthur Smallwood of Alton was accused of stabbing cab driver Jan-Eric Anderson after the driver picked up his attacker near an Alton bar on Aug. 8, 2018.

The 55-year-old Smallwood was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder on July 17. Since it was his third Class X felony conviction, Smallwood on Tuesday received a mandatory natural life sentence.

In 1984, Smallwood was convicted of armed robbery and armed violence and spent 10 years in prison. Madison County prosecutors say Smallwood received probation for attacking a police officer in 1993. In 1998 he was convicted of attempted first-degree murder for beating a man with a hammer, spending five years in prison.