SAN DIEGO - A man who allegedly slashed a fellow trolley rider with a box cutter in Old Town and then hijacked a car from a 75-year-old man outside a nearby restaurant pleaded not guilty Wednesday to attempted murder and other charges.
Gregory Charles Davis, 54, was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
Deputy District Attorney Christopher Moon told Judge David Szumowski that Davis and the stabbing victim were both riding on the trolley about 12:30 p.m. Monday when the defendant -- seemingly unprovoked -- slashed the victim in the throat, leaving a 4-inch laceration.
Davis and the victim apparently knew each other, the prosecutor said.
Once off the trolley, Davis allegedly confronted a 75-year-old man near Perry's Cafe, demanding the keys to his car, Moon said.
Davis allegedly punched the man and drove off recklessly, causing two hit-and-run accidents, the prosecutor said.
Shortly before 3 p.m., a television news cameraman driving through Clairemont Mesa spotted the stolen Buick parked and abandoned alongside the southbound lanes of Interstate 805, near Mesa College Drive, police said.
Officers with a service dog searched a brushy open area into which the carjacker apparently had fled after pulling over on the freeway, according to police. About 4 p.m., police took the suspect into custody off the 7800 block of Mission Center Road.
Davis will be back in court Oct. 7 for a readiness conference and Oct. 12 for a preliminary hearing.
He faces 15 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder, carjacking, elder abuse and two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run. Moon said.
