CERES -- Detectives identified the man arrested after a 57-year-old man was stabbed in the back with a steak knife as the victim stood along Hatch Road on Friday morning holding a sign advertising a nearby business.
The victim remained hospitalized Saturday, but there was no further information about his condition, said Ceres police Sgt. Patrick Sullivan. The injured man was listed in critical condition Friday evening.
Sullivan said James Wallace, 45, was arrested Friday evening on suspicion of attempted murder after being questioned by detectives. He was being held Saturday night at the Stanislaus County Jail; bail was set at $500,000.
The victim was holding a sign advertising Ceres Gold Buyers, a business in the Ceres Plaza Shopping Center between Herndon Road and Richland Avenue.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m., the victim saw out of the corner of his eye a tall man approaching him from behind. Before he could turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his back, Ceres police said.
The attacker ran north across Hatch toward the former Raley's shopping center. The victim slowly made his way back to the Gold Buyers business for help. The first officers to arrive found the man with the steak knife protruding from his back, lodged between his shoulder blades.
The victim gave officers a brief description of his assailant before he lost consciousness. Ceres police said officers found Wallace, who matched the description of the attacker, behind the Raley's shopping center with a steak knife similar to the one used in the attack.
Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or (209) 578-2394.
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