Man pleads guilty to attempted murder for hitting SDPD officer with vehicle

City News Service
Posted

SAN DIEGO (CNS) — A man who struck a San Diego police officer with his vehicle after police responded to his Point Loma home pleaded guilty this week to attempted murder and domestic violence charges.

William Stephens, 66, is expected to be sentenced to 12 years in state prison next month for driving his Jeep toward Officer Matthew Salisbury, one of several officers who responded to Stephens' home on Jan. 23, 2025, for a domestic violence report.

Prosecutors allege that as Salisbury approached the driveway, Stephens sped toward the officer, who attempted to evade the vehicle by moving behind a bush located near the driveway's entrance. Stephens then turned his Jeep toward the bush, striking Salisbury, then crashed into a mailbox and another vehicle parked on the street.

Stephens then exited the Jeep and was taken to the ground by multiple officers and handcuffed.

Salisbury sustained fractures to one of his legs and a dislocated knee, according to evidence presented at a preliminary hearing last year.

Officers were called out after Stephens' wife called 911 and stated her husband had threatened her and cut her hand with a knife. Stephens' wife testified that she and her sister went to the home and encountered Stephens, who appeared extremely angry and demanded they leave.

She said that after he grabbed a knife from a knife block in the kitchen, she approached Stephens, put her hand up in a defensive gesture when he held the knife too close to her, and attempted to grab the blade, cutting her hand in the process.

The women then exited the house and called 911.