Inset: Jacob E. Masters (Palm Springs Police Department). Background: The CV Link trail where Masters stabbed an elderly stranger (YouTube/Gordon Thomas).
A 53-year-old man in California will spend nearly a decade behind bars for stabbing an elderly stranger on a hiking trail late last year after the victim made eye contact with the assailant.
Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker on Monday ordered Jacob Ethan Masters to serve eight years in a state correctional facility for the unprovoked attack.
Tucker handed down the sentence after Masters reached a deal with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to an elder adult resulting in great bodily harm and an enhancement for injuring an individual over 70 years old. In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors dropped several related charges against Masters, including attempted murder and resisting a peace officer.
According to a news release from the Palm Springs Police Department, officers at about 2:40 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2025, responded to a reported stabbing on the CV Link — a pathway for pedestrians and low-speed electric vehicles — off Cathedral Canyon Drive in the city of Palm Springs. Authorities said the victim called 911 and told an emergency dispatcher that they had been attacked at about 11:30 a.m. that day.
In an interview with investigators, the victim said he was walking on the hiking trail when he "made eye contact with a man on the trail as they passed."
"The victim said that about 15 minutes later, as he headed toward home, the suspect was still in the area," the release states. "The suspect reportedly put on a ski mask, approached while yelling profanities, and assaulted the victim, knocking him to the ground. The victim fought back, and the suspect fled on foot. After the altercation, the victim learned he had been stabbed."
The victim was treated at a Coachella Valley hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and was later released.
Evidence collected, including witness statements and a 1.5-second video clip appearing to show the assailant, led detectives to identify Masters, of Palm Springs, as the primary suspect.
On Jan. 11, officers located Masters in the 5600 block of E. Ramon Road. When officers attempted to detain him, Masters fled the area on foot and was apprehended following a brief chase. He was then transported and booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility.
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