A Boulder County judge sentenced a man to five years in prison on Thursday after he stabbed a man on a Boulder trail in September 2024.
Randy Wojno, 66, was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of mandatory parole after pleading guilty in an October plea agreement to second-degree assault – strangulation and possession of an illegal weapon.
As part of the plea agreement, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office dismissed one count of first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, one count of possession of an illegal weapon and one count of dogs running at large, according to online court records.
Boulder County District Court Judge Andrew Hartman cited the severity of the crime in his decision to hand down a mid-range sentence, saying it was “pure providence that the victim is living.” He also said he considered Wojno’s lack of criminal history.
Law enforcement responded to a report of the stabbing on Sept. 11, 2024, on Chapman Drive Trail, according to an arrest affidavit.
A deputy found a man bleeding from a “very deep” upper leg wound and his right abdomen. The man was taken to the hospital and required surgery, according to the affidavit.
Through witness interviews, deputies later identified the suspect as Wojno, who frequently walked in the area with his Yorkshire Terrier-type dog.
Police used Flock camera footage to identify Wojno’s license plate and found him at his home. Wojno told police he “slashed” the man on the trail in self-defense after the other man “came at him,” “body-slammed him,” and then punched him, giving him a bloody nose and a swollen lip, according to the affidavit. Police confirmed those injuries in their own inspection of his face, the affidavit stated.
The victim told police he recalled passing Wojno several times on the trail in the weeks prior to the incident, one time telling Wojno he needed to leash his dog because he was worried a runner or cyclist would run into the dog.
The day of the stabbing, the man told police he verbally confronted Wojno after almost tripping on his dog. He told police Wojno got in his face and then stabbed him. He did not remember if he punched Wojno, but said if he did, it was in self-defense, according to the affidavit.
Wojno told police he didn’t call 911 after the incident because he didn’t have service, according to the affidavit. A search warrant of his phone found searches for “Sheriff-Boulder County” and “Blotter – Boulder County.” In court Thursday, Hartman said Wojno’s decision to leave the trailhead and not call 911 was “utterly inconsistent” with someone acting in self-defense.
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