SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 35-year-old convicted felon pleaded guilty July 12 and was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison for nearly killing a homeless man in a stabbing attack in Garden Grove.
Ronnie Alexander Vinal pleaded guilty to attempted murder with sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury and the personal use of a deadly weapon. Mr. Vinal, who accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin, was given credit for 869 days in jail.
Mr. Vinal stabbed the man multiple times in the face on May 15, 2022, according to police.
Garden Grove police were called about 10:35 p.m. to the 12900 block of Beach Boulevard, near Garden Grove Boulevard and the Garden Grove-Stanton border, where deputies encountered the victim, police said. The victim was attacked in front of a business in the 7900 block of Garden Grove Boulevard.
The victim had stopped breathing and did not have a pulse, but paramedics managed to revive him and rushed him to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, police said.
Police recovered surveillance video from a business showing the attack. The victim was standing in bushes in front of a business when Mr. Vinal attacked him without warning, police said. The victim managed to run away across Garden Grove Boulevard, where a pair of sheriff’s deputies found him, police said.
In another case, Mr. Vinal pleaded guilty Dec. 3, 2021, to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury with a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury on a victim and sentenced to 60 days in jail. He was sentenced to another 60 days on April 19, 2022, for a probation violation and released on May 12, 2022, according to court records.
