A felon accused of stabbing a senior on a transportation corridor in Palm Springs without provocation pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assault with a deadly weapon and other charges.
Jacob Ethan Masters, 53, of Palm Springs, was arrested Sunday following a nearly two-week investigation by the Palm Springs Police Department.
Along with the assault count, Masters is charged with elder abuse and sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and inflicting great bodily injury.
The defendant was arraigned at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Wednesday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Harry Elias, who set his bail at $100,000.
A new court date was not immediately scheduled. Masters is being held at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to police, on the afternoon of Dec. 31, the defendant confronted the victim, identified only as a local man with the initials “D.D.,” on a segment of the CV Link between Cathedral Canyon and Golf Club drives.
The link is a 40-mile paved route that provides space for bicycling, walking and running — without impacts from vehicular traffic — across parts of the Coachella Valley.
Investigators said the victim crossed paths with Masters while walking toward his home. Initially, nothing untoward happened, except the two made eye contact. Masters apparently tailed the victim, and about 15 minutes after their first encounter, the defendant allegedly donned a ski mask and charged after D.D. while screaming profanities at him, police said.
The senior was knocked to the ground and tried to repulse another attack, during which Masters allegedly stabbed him, then fled, investigators said.
The victim was able to summon help, and he was taken to a Coachella Valley hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening wound, from which he is recovering.
Based on descriptions provided by the victim and other evidence gathered in the area, detectives ultimately identified Masters as the alleged assailant. A warrant was obtained for his arrest, and he was tracked to the intersection of Crossley Road and Sarah Street in Cathedral City, where he was taken into custody without incident.
Court records show the defendant has prior convictions for domestic violence and auto theft.