BOULDER, Colo. — A man who pleaded guilty to stabbing a trail runner in Boulder over a disagreement about an off-leash dog in 2024 was sentenced to prison on Thursday afternoon.
Randy Wojno, 66, initially faced five counts following his arrest in 2024: first-degree assault (causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon), having an at-large dog, two counts of illegal possession of a weapon and second-degree assault. He took a plea deal where he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and one count of illegal possession of a weapon.
On Thursday, Judge Andrew Hartman sentenced him to five years in the Department of Corrections and three years of mandatory parole. Minutes before handing down the sentence, Hartman acknowledged that Wojno had no prior criminal record and had been an upstanding member of society up until that morning of the incident.
“But this is one extremely, extremely serious crime that he committed," Hartman said.
This case began on the morning of Sept. 11, 2024. Around 7:46 a.m. that day, the Boulder County Communications Center received a report of a stabbing in the area of where Chapman Drive and Tenderfoot Trail meet, near the 3400 block of Flagstaff Road. This is west of the City of Boulder.
It was a day that the victim, who Denver7 is not naming in this story, called the worst day of his life during the sentencing hearing on Thursday.
He had been running on Chapman Road Trail when he came across Wojno, who is also a frequent user of the trails in that area. The two men had interacted on the trails before.
The men's recollection of what happened differed.
Later, Wojno would tell police that "(the victim) did not like the fact that Randy's dog was off leash. Randy said words were exchanged, (The victim) came at him and then (the victim) body-slammed him... Randy said he was going to continue on his way, but (the victim) got up and punched him. Randy said at that point he tried to throw a punch back and he took out his pocket knife and slashed (the victim)," according to an arrest affidavit for Wojno.
Wojno had left the scene before first responders reached the victim, who was "in a lot of pain and shivering," the affidavit reads. The victim was able to tell a first responder that he did not know Wojno, but they had seen each other on the trails before, and the last time they interacted about a week prior, the victim had almost tripped on Wojno's off-leash dog. The men recalled that interaction differently: The victim said he told Wojno to leash his dog so it would not get hit or injured by a mountain biker or runner coming down the trail, and Wojno said the victim told him that if he didn't put his dog on a leash he could "put him on the ground," the affidavit reads.
When they ran into each other on Sept. 11, 2024, the victim again told Wojno to put the dog on a leash after the dog came close to him and he almost tripped, the affidavit reads. He said something like "Do we really have to have this conversation again?" the document continues.
The victim said Wojno then stabbed him in the abdomen — puncturing his stomach — knocked him down and "came at me again and again," slicing his skin. One slice nearly castrated him, the victim told the courtroom, and was within a few millimeters of severing his femoral artery. He recalled pleading for him to stop and for help, but the other man fled.
He said he had to use his right forearm "to hold in my guts" and his left hand to stop bleeding on another cut. He has a high pain threshold, he said, but called the stab wounds "unimaginable."
"I thought I was going to die on the trail," he said.
A group of cyclists came by and were able to administer First-Aid and contact emergency personnel.
The victim was transported to a hospital with serious injuries and required immediate surgery.
Both men denied being an aggressor in the incident, the affidavit reads. When asked about this inconsistency, the victim told police "he could imagine someone who just tried to kill someone and leave them for dead would have an interesting version," the document reads.
Only one person witnessed the two men's interaction on the trail, and she told police she saw both pushing each other for about 20 to 30 seconds before the runner started to yell for help, according to the affidavit.
A prosecutor said after Wojno left the victim on the trail, he went to his truck. First responders were already at the parking lot, she said. He never called 911 or alerted others on the trail to the situation, she said. He drove to the Gross Reservoir, where he intended to finish a run, but could not do it because he was distraught, so he drove home instead, the prosecutor said. She said when Wojno got home, he Googled "Boulder County dispatch" and "Blotter report."
Investigators were able to locate his car using witness statements and Flock cameras, and ran his license plate. They found the car was registered to him and were able to contact him the same day.
They went to his home and Wojno admitted that he had "slashed" the victim in self-defense after the other man assaulted him, the affidavit reads. He said he has a permit that allows his dog to be off-leash in certain areas of Boulder. He showed police a photo of blood on a tissue and another photo where he attempted to take a photo of his lip to show it was swollen from the altercation, the affidavit reads.
Wojno's arrest came on Oct. 16.
After his arrest, Wojno attempted to place blame on other people and claimed self-defense, the prosecution said, adding that a stabbing was beyond what was appropriate for that situation.
“This reaction was absolutely unmerited," the prosecutor said.
The defense argued that Wojno did not go out on the trails that day with the intention of stabbing somebody and was, in his mind, protecting himself from a dangerous situation. The defense added that Wojno admitted to authorities that he had stabbed the victim and made no effort to conceal the pocket knife.
The harm done was "astronomical," but it was the only "terrible" thing Wojno has done in his life, the defense said.
"A person’s life should not be described by a five-second picture of one event," he said.
While Wojno did not address the court, as a civil case is ongoing, his wife spoke about their 41 years of happy, healthy marriage. She called her husband quiet and conflict-averse. He has expressed remorse in this case and is very sorry for having hurt another person, she said.
The victim told the court that his digestive system is still compromised, his stomach was punctured, he has reduced motion in his left leg and his immune system has weakened. As an avid trail runner prior to the crime, he is adjusting to the fact that he may never gain that level of fitness again. He no longer sleeps well and wakes up screaming from nightmares about the attack.
“My body will never be the same," he said.
The victim explained that mountain trails have always been a source of peace and clarity for him, and that has now been replaced by anxiety about running into Wojno again. He said his family suffers from the same concerns and they have discussed potentially moving away from Boulder.
He added that people in his community are also worried about the defendant visiting Boulder trails in the future.
“Many runners and cyclists who are friends of mine and know about this attack have asked me to convene their concerns and anger," he told the judge.
The prosecutors argued that Wojno's inability to take full responsibility for his actions, his blame on the victim and the injuries the man sustained are all serious aggravating factors. They asked the judge to sentence him to eight years in prison.
The defense asked for probation.
Judge Hartman then addressed the courtroom, saying that the defendant used lethal force and the victim could have died. He said Wojno admitted to what he had done, but minimized his actions and did not express remorse fully. His actions were inconsistent with self-defense, the judge said, and Wojno didn't take any steps to prevent the victim from dying on the trail — and all over an 8-pound dog.
Probation is insufficient, Hartman said, and sentenced Wojno to five years in prison, which was a mid-range sentence for the crime. He said he took into account how the defendant accepted responsibility to some degree.
