Elderly Man Out for a Walk Stabbed for ‘Making Eye Contact’ with Random Stranger on Hiking Trail

A California man will spend nearly a decade behind bars for a violent and seemingly random attack on an elderly stranger — a stabbing that prosecutors say was sparked by nothing more than eye contact on a hiking trail.

Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker sentenced 53-year-old Jacob Ethan Masters on Monday to eight years in a state prison for the late-2025 assault. The sentence followed a plea deal with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in which Masters admitted guilt to cruelty to an elder adult resulting in great bodily harm, along with an enhancement for injuring a person over the age of 70.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped several more serious charges, including attempted murder and resisting a peace officer.

According to a news release from the Palm Springs Police Department, officers were called to a reported stabbing around 2:40 p.m. on December 31, 2025. The attack occurred along the CV Link, a multi-use pathway for pedestrians and low-speed electric vehicles near Cathedral Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.

Police said the victim contacted 911 and reported that he had been attacked earlier that morning, around 11:30 a.m.

During interviews with investigators, the elderly victim explained that he had been walking on the trail when he passed another man and briefly made eye contact. About 15 minutes later, as he headed home, the same man was still nearby.

According to police, the suspect then put on a ski mask, began yelling profanities, and charged at the victim, knocking him to the ground. The victim fought back, and the attacker fled the scene on foot. It was only after the struggle ended that the victim realized he had been stabbed.

The man was taken to a Coachella Valley hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries before being released.

Investigators were able to identify Masters as the primary suspect after collecting witness statements and reviewing a brief video clip — just 1.5 seconds long — that appeared to capture the assailant.

On January 11, officers located Masters in the 5600 block of East Ramon Road. When police attempted to detain him, he ran, triggering a brief foot chase before he was apprehended. Masters was then booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility.