A Vancouver man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday. Stabbed a Clark College employee in the neck in May while sitting in front of a campus building.

Salvador Aguilar, 31, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree assault and attempted motor vehicle theft. His sentence will run concurrently with a 13-month sentence in a 2023 residential burglary case, according to court records.

Vancouver police responded to the university at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way on May 14 at 4:29 p.m. for a report of a stabbing. According to probable cause, officers arrived to find Jami Crawford had been stabbed in the neck. Clark College has previously said he is an employee of the university.

Crawford told officers he was sitting in front of Gaiser Hall on the main campus when a man he did not know approached him. He said the man, whom police later identified as Aguilar, struck him in the neck and initially thought he had punched him. The woman later realized she was bleeding and had been stabbed, according to court records.

Crawford said she yelled something about a sexual assault on her daughter before Aguilar stabbed her, according to testimony.

Crawford was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. The affidavit stated that the injuries to the medical staff were not life-threatening, but the wound was near vital vessels.

Police searched the area around the Vancouver college for the attacker but were unable to find him. Officers watched surveillance video of the stabbing, according to court records.

Clark College security alerted police to an incident with a similar-looking suspect the day before. Security guards said a woman contacted them around 7 p.m. and tried to get into a man’s vehicle while she was sitting in one of the parking lots. The woman, identified as Trista Cochran, said the man pulled open her door and made repeated comments about the sexual assault on her daughter. It was stated that the indictment also included security footage of the incident.

Police shared photos of the attacker, which led to a tip that he frequented a business in the Rose Village neighborhood. One man said he sometimes let Aguilar stay on his property. Officers went there and found Aguilar asleep in the cab of a truck. Police arrested him and found the clothes he wore to college in the truck. according to court records.

During the police interview, officers said Aguilar said he was defending himself when he stabbed Crawford. Police noted in the affidavit that this was not consistent with the surveillance video. Investigators said Aguilar also admitted to trying to steal Cochran’s car, according to the affidavit.