Man gets 15 years in prison for skateboard attack on elderly man in Costa Mesa

A 30-year-old transient pleaded guilty Friday and was immediately sentenced to 15 years in prison for slamming a skateboard over the head of a 79-year-old man in Costa Mesa.

Jacob Riley Manndavis pleaded guilty to attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and inflicting injury on an elder adult, all felonies. He also admitted to a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury on the victim.

Manndavis accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin, who struck, for the purposes of sentencing, enhancements for personal use of a deadly weapon, crime against a vulnerable victim, attempted premeditated murder, causing great bodily injury on an elder and dismissed a felony charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.

A witness told officers on patrol about a man with a gun seen in the 700 block of West 19th Street in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2025, according to police. When they tracked down the suspect, he ran away but they managed to catch up and take him into custody.

Police found a loaded Glock handgun at the scene and linked it to a vehicle break-in, police said. Investigators also linked Manndavis to the Jan. 28, 2025, attack on the 79-year-old man at 628 W. 19th St.

The victim had been returning home after celebrating the Lunar New Year with his son, police said in Manndavis’ preliminary hearing.

Officers were called to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach just before 1:40 a.m. Jan. 29, when the victim went to be treated for his injuries, police said. The victim, who was attacked from behind, sustained multiple fractures to his skull, nose and brain bleeding.

Manndavis previously pleaded guilty Sept. 15, 2023, to attempted robbery in Costa Mesa. He was given credit for 575 days behind bars thus far in the skateboard attack case.