A man stabbed two San Diego firefighters who were tending to an intoxicated man at an East Village trolley station last year, a prosecutor said Monday, but a defense attorney said his client was trying to help the drunk man and stabbed the firefighters in self-defense after being pushed over a bench by a fire captain.
Ryan Allen Jones, 35, is charged with two counts each of attempted murder of a firefighter, assault with a deadly weapon and battery. He faces more than 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Deputy District Attorney Steven Schott told a jury in his opening statement that firefighters Benjamin Vernon and Alex Wallbrett were just doing their jobs, responding to a medical-aid call around 4 p.m. June 24, 2015, when Jones stabbed them in a "brazen attack'' that was "nothing short of pure violence.'' Schott said Jones made a calculated decision to pull out a pocket knife, flip it open and attack the firefighters as they tried to help the intoxicated man at the trolley stop in the 500 block of Park Boulevard.