SANTA CRUZ — Steven John Wooding, the man suspected of stabbing a young woman Wednesday at Cabrillo College in Aptos, made his first appearance is Superior Court Friday.
In the courtroom of Judge Stephen Sillman, Assistant District Attorney Alex Beyers asked Sillman to bump the bail for Wooding from $750,000 to no bail, which the judge granted.
Wooding was charged with being a public safety threat and attempted murder. He reportedly attacked the victim with a 14-inch knife. He once spent time in a psychiatric hospital for attacking a Cabrillo College instructor years ago.
“We have to look at every case individually,” Beyers said. “Mr. Wooding does have some mental health issues and we have to look at how these issues played a role in this case. This is an unprovoked, premeditated violent assault on a young woman at Cabrillo College; it’s scary. It’s a rather large knife and frankly it’s amazing that she’s still alive and not in worse condition, so we are thankful for that.”
Wooding
The stabbing occurred near the school’s cafeteria, officials at the scene said.
Wooding did not know the 19-year-old victim, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Cleveland said. Court records show charges in 1994 for assault, causing great bodily injury and using tear gas against another person.
“It seems random based on the evidence. Sadly it appears this is about Cabrillo College more than it was about this young woman,” Beyers said.
