The man was convicted after a stab wound attack on a Ventura County hiking trail left a hospitalized person.
On July 9, 2020, the victim was hiking with a friend on the Simi Valley Cross Trail, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
As the two political parties passed each other, Moorepark suspect Alfredo Vazquez, 25, asked the victim, “Where did they come from?”
Prosecutors said the question was “a general gang challenge.” When the victim responded, Vasquez ran to him with a knife.
During the violent altercation, Vazquez stabbed the victim twice in the chest, slashing the forearm, causing serious injuries.
The victim manages to run down the trail and escape to a nearby neighbour, where he knocks on the door of a stranger and asks for help.
Alfredo Vasquez, 25, of Moore Park, can be seen in booking photos from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
He was taken to the hospital where he received multiple staples for the wounds. The injury left permanent scarring, authorities said. The suspect had fled the area.
During the investigation, detectives from the Simi Valley police found two important evidence: a T-shirt from the victim, stained with Vasquez’s blood, and another T-shirt that was later connected to Vasquez.
Surveillance footage from a nearby home shows the victim fleeing the area where he was bleeding shirtless, and minutes later, matching Vasquez’s explanation, two suspects continued off the trail, including the then-shirtless man, prosecutors said.
Vasquez was later arrested and was convicted on June 4 by a ju-deputy for assaulting a deadly weapon. Special allegations deemed true include the crime being gang-related and causing serious bodily injury in the felony committee.
“Ventura County residents should feel safe and safe while hiking the beautiful trails without worrying about encountering gang violence,” said Haley Moyer, the Ventura County District Attorney who indicted the case. “I would like to thank the ju-decision for the careful and thoughtful deliberation. I will be accountable to the defendant for this malicious, gang-motivated attack.”
He is in custody without bail and has faced 14 years in state prisons. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 3rd in Ventura County Superior Court.
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