New details of 2022 Lithia Ford stabbing come to light in court

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Chilling new details of a brazen 2022 Fresno stabbing came to light in court Tuesday as the man whom prosecutors say Manuel Bracker tried to kill took the stand.

"I felt what I can recall as an electrifying pain in my back," the attempted murder victim told a judge. Action News is not showing or naming the man. "I couldn't fathom as to what the pain was," he said.

He did not know it at first, but he was stabbed twice near his lower right back.

The incident unfolded in broad daylight at the Lithia Ford dealership in Northeast Fresno. The victim was in a conference room, getting ready to meet with other Lithia managers.

"I looked down at the ground," the victim said. "I had blood dripping down on my shoes and on the floor. I fell back into the chair behind me."

As the victim was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, some of his colleagues followed the suspect down an embankment off Highway 41. They helped lead the police to Manuel Bracker.

"He ran for probably a couple of hundred yards, and then, he slowed down and began reaching his hands into his pocket," Fresno Police Department's Todd Turney said. "He took something out and threw it towards the freeway."

Officers later recovered a knife near the highway shoulder, and prosecutors charged Bracker with attempted murder and assault.

It is unclear what exactly led up to the stabbing, but court documents reveal a disturbing criminal history.

Bracker has already served prison time for stabbing a woman in the neck in 2019.

The 37-year-old has previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and is an Iraq War veteran.

"The defendant said something along the lines of he was just there to carry out his mission and get his mission accomplished," a Fresno Police investigator said.

The judge later ruled prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed with the case and take it to trial.

Bracker is due back in court on March 26.

For news updates, follow Gabe Ferris on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.