A man who stabbed two San Diego firefighters as they tried to render aid to an intoxicated person at a downtown trolley station was sentenced today to nearly 24 years in state prison.
Ryan Allen Jones, 35, was convicted last month of two counts each of attempted voluntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon and battery for the attack last June 24.
In sentencing Jones, Judge Jeffrey Fraser refused to strike two prior "strikes" on the defendant's record: a 2002 conviction for robbery in which he was armed and a 2008 conviction for battery on a peace officer in Oakland in which the officer was hurt.
"I don't think you're a bad man," the judge told Jones, but he said the defendant had a very bad temper.
Unfortunately, the judge said, when a fire captain also known for his temper pushed Jones over a bench to try to get him to stand back, the defendant reacted with violence. Once Jones pulled out a knife, he intended to kill firefighters Benjamin Vernon and Alex Wallbrett, the judge said.