Man sent to prison for stabbing woman at Santa Rosa apartment complex

A Santa Rosa homeless man convicted of stabbing a woman in an unprovoked attack at a Santa Rosa apartment complex was sentenced to serve seven years in state prison, Sonoma County District Attorney officials said.

Jessie James Graham, 41, was convicted in May of felony assault with a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury, according to the District Attorney’s Office. A Sonoma County jury returned the verdict following a six-day trial.

During a sentencing hearing Thursday, Judge Bradford DeMeo gave Graham the maximum sentence of seven years and said Graham was a risk to the community, prosecutors said.

Portions of the Nov. 20 attack were recorded by a surveillance camera at Arroyo Point Apartments on Jennings Avenue.

“During the attack Graham stabbed a female victim, with whom he had no prior relationship, in the back with a knife while she attempted to enter her residence,” District Attorney’s officials said in a statement.

Her attacker fled, and the woman was helped by her daughters who brought her into her apartment and called 911, police officials said.

The woman was seriously injured but survived.

Graham has tattoos on his face and body. The attacker wore a bandanna and hat, obscuring his face, but was identified partly by “distinctive tattoos” on his leg, prosecutors said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.