A 20-year-old man accused of slashing an El Sobrante resident with a machete during a confrontation at the victim’s home pleaded not guilty Wednesday to attempted murder and other offenses.
Collin Adam Stewart of Riverside was arrested last month following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Along with attempted murder, Stewart is charged with mayhem and a sentence-enhancing allegation of inflicting great bodily injury with a deadly weapon.
The defendant was arraigned Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Melissa Hale, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Aug. 21 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Stewart is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning,
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Patrick Montalvo, in the predawn hours of April 17, Stewart and the victim, whose identity was not disclosed, were involved in an unspecified dispute at the man’s property in the 1600 block of Jordana Circle, near McAllister Parkway, in the unincorporated community situated between Lake Mathews and Riverside.
Montalvo alleged Stewart went after the man with a machete, inflicting several wounds. The victim was able to get to safety and call 911, at which point Stewart fled, the sergeant said.
He said patrol deputies and paramedics converged on the location within minutes and found the victim with non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to a Riverside hospital for treatment and is now in recovery at home.
Relying on the victim’s statements and evidence collected at the scene, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Stewart, who was taken into custody without incident late in the afternoon of April 17 near the intersection of McAllister and La Sierra Avenue.
A possible motive was not disclosed.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.