State Street Stabbing Suspect Faces Life Sentence

Ryan Christopher Zietlow-Brown, also known as Ryan Christopher Rosenbaum, who last Friday allegedly stabbed a 25-year-old African-American man twice in the head after the two got into an altercation, faces a life sentence with the possibility of parole, said Deputy District Attorney Ali Neuffer.

The case is still under investigation and Zietlow-Brown has not yet been assigned a defense attorney, but he has been officially charged with two counts — aggravated mayhem with a special allegation of a hate crime, as well as assault with the use of a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury. The victim was only recently released from the hospital.

Zietlow-Brown, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday in jail, is not new to the criminal system. He had previously been charged with four misdemeanors, two of which sent him to prison for a short period of time. His current assault charge is not his first. In June 2008, Zietlow-Brown swung a skateboard at a man by the skate park on Cabrillo Boulevard after a verbal altercation.

The then 21-year old Zietlow-Brown was charged with assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. The skateboard left a four-inch wide scrape on the victim’s left wrist. In April 2009 and in March 2010, Zietlow-Brown was charged with public intoxication — the most recent involved drug charges.

Because Zietlow-Brown has previously served prison time, he will be facing the “prison prior” allegation which adds one more year to his potential sentence. According to Neuffer, a bail of $1 million has been set. The arraignment of Zietlow-Brown will take place tomorrow in Department 8.