Actor pleads not guilty in stabbing

A veteran Hollywood actor best known for his performance in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of premeditated attempted murder in an attack that left his former girlfriend in critical condition with 20 stab wounds, authorities said.

Shelley Malil, 43, of Sherman Oaks faces a possibility of life in prison if convicted of the attack, which took place Sunday night, said Paul Levikow, a spokesman for the San Diego County district attorney’s office. The charges against Malil include allegations of using a knife, domestic violence and causing grave bodily injury to Kendra Beebe, 35.

Malil was detained Monday night as he got off an Amtrak train in Oceanside. He had traveled there to meet with his attorney in preparation for turning himself in to police, according to a statement by Lt. Phil Brust of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Malil was ordered held in lieu of $10-million bond after Superior Court Judge Marshall Hockett deemed him a flight risk, the Associated Press reported.

-- Andrew Blankstein