Ukiah man critical with 15 stab wounds

A 24-year-old Ukiah man was in critical condition Tuesday after being stabbed more than 15 times during a confrontation along the railroad tracks in south Ukiah, police said.

The wounded man, whose name was withheld, was flown to a Santa Rosa hospital for treatment, said Ukiah Police Capt. Justin Wyatt.

A suspect, Michael James Taylor, 18, was apprehended shortly after the 11 a.m. stabbing, said Ukiah Police Capt. Justin Wyatt.

Wyatt said he spotted Taylor, shirtless and smeared with blood, walking about a block away from the stabbing location. “He was carrying his shirt and it was full of blood,” he said.

Taylor was unarmed, but police found the weapon with the use of a metal detector, Wyatt said.

It's unclear how well the two men knew each other or why they fought, he said. One of the wounds was to the man's neck, Wyatt said.

The men were in an area frequented by transients but are not themselves considered transients, he said.

The railroad tracks near Gobbi Street also have become a hangout for people looking for a party, Wyatt said.

“It has become kind of the thing to do,” he said.

Taylor is being held in the Mendocino County jail on suspicion of attempted murder. His bail is set at $250,000.