Alleged knife-wielding man charged with assault spree in Irvine

A felon with a lengthy criminal history was charged Thursday with going on a spree of what police called unprovoked assaults that included a stabbing in Irvine.

Ricardo De La Riva Jr., 43, of Irvine, was charged with attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, all felonies, along with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon and inflicting great bodily injury on a victim.

Officers were dispatched at 12:23 p.m. Tuesday to the Heritage Plaza shopping center at Culver Drive and Walnut Avenue, where a man was slashed on the arm by an attacker, police said.

The suspect confronted another man, who he allegedly threatened with a knife, police said. The suspect then ran to Walnut Avenue and Ravenwood Street, where he demanded a shirt from a man in his front yard, police said.

When the victim refused, De La Riva allegedly stabbed him in the abdomen, police said. The victim was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive the attack, police said.

The defendant did not know any of the alleged victims, police said.

De La Riva pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in November 2017, according to court records. The defendant pleaded guilty to burglary and arson in September 2000, according to court records.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance on Nov. 29 and was sentenced to 60 hours of community service and ordered to attend self-help meetings, according to court records.

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