Man faces 15 years in prison for stabbing at Cabrillo College in 2018

SANTA CRUZ – A 55-year-old former psychiatric patient at a state hospital faces a 15-year prison sentence under an agreement with prosecutors confirmed Wednesday.

After lengthy psychiatric treatment, Steve Wooding was found guilty in August of a 2018 attempted murder charge. Ahead of a possible trial, Wooding pleaded no contest to attempted murder, two counts of assault and possession of a knife on a college campus before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy.

According to details of the case laid out at this week's hearing, on Oct. 31, 2018, Wooding unprovokedly approached a 19-year-old Cabrillo College student sitting in a busy cafeteria and stabbed her in the back. The student, pursued by Wooding, fled the cafeteria onto a grassy area outside before students and at least one teacher helped pin Wooding to the ground, the Sentinel reported at the time. Students who gave their side of the story were unsure whether the incident was a Halloween prank or a school shooting.

Before the attack, Wooding had sent the Sentinel more than 100 emails and nearly 50 voicemails containing unspecified threats that he intended to commit a crime. These messages were then forwarded to authorities.