Carlsbad Dishwasher Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Stabbing of Mystery Victim

A Carlsbad man convicted of attempted murder in a case where the victim remains mysteriously absent was sentenced Tuesday to spend 10 years in state prison and four years on probation.

Rodney Lee Graham, a 24-year-old dishwasher, was found guilty in Vista Superior Court of repeatedly stabbing a man last December in Oceanside after the victim allegedly stole $20 from Graham and ran into a nearby convenience store. The attack was witnessed by three clerks and several customers, and was captured on videotape by the store’s security camera.

The victim, despite having been stabbed several times in the neck, head and chest, walked out of the store and has not been seen again. Police had followed a trail of blood to a nearby parking lot but could not find the man.

“We haven’t found him yet. We’re still looking under the bushes,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Walden told the court during the sentencing.

Walden urged Judge David B. Moon to sentence Graham to the maximum possible term of 12 years, saying that “the attack was not only vicious but a step beyond that. (Graham’s) completely outrageous conduct should be punished to the utmost.”

William Saunders, Graham’s public defender, had hoped for a lesser sentence of five years, saying it was Graham’s first felony offense, and he had been provoked.