Transient who allegedly stabbed Villa Park girl could face three-strikes provision

A 49-year-old transient who allegedly stabbed a 14-year-old girl in Villa Park is scheduled to be arraigned today on felony assault charges and faces a three-strikes sentencing enhancement that could land him in prison for life, prosecutors said.

David Edward Eddy, 49, is charged with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of possession of a deadly weapon, and a sentencing enhancement for great bodily injury, prosecutors said. Two felony convictions – one for a 1992 burglary in San Francisco and another in a 1984 aggravated assault in Los Angeles County – make him eligible for the three-strikes sentencing enhancement. Eddy faces a potential prison sentence of 28 years to life if convicted.

The girl, who recounted her story at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department headquarters on Monday, said she had just left the Bagel Me shop on Santiago Boulevard in Villa Park on Saturday and was walking up the street with her friend when they were approached by a man. The man stabbed her twice on her right side below the armpit, police said.

Three men at a nearby gas station chased the man down after he was identified by the girl’s friend and held him until police arrived.

The girl, who asked to be identified only by her first name – Melissa – was taken to a hospital, treated and released Sunday.

Prosecutors said they will ask for bail to be set at $1 million during today’s scheduled arraignment at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

paloma.esquivel@latimes.com