Man convicted of violent stabbing attack at Ventura County hiking trail

A man was convicted after a stabbing attack at a Ventura County hiking trail left a person hospitalized.

On July 9, 2020, the victim was hiking with a friend at the Simi Valley Cross trail when they encountered two men walking uphill, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

As the two parties passed each other, the suspect, Alfredo Vasquez, 25, of Moorpark, asked the victim, "Where you from?”

Prosecutors said the question was a “common gang challenge.” When the victim responded, Vasquez ran at him with a knife.

During the violent altercation, Vasquez stabbed the victim twice in the chest and slashed his forearm, leaving him with serious injuries.

The victim managed to escape by running down the trail and into a nearby neighborhood, where he knocked on a stranger’s