The juvenile arrested last week for allegedly stabbing a woman who was house-sitting at a Steamboat Springs home could be prosecuted as an adult after a Tuesday hearing in Routt County Court.

The 16-year-old defendant is being held without bond at the Grand Mesa Youth Services Center in Grand Junction. He is facing charges of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and criminal attempt to commit first-degree burglary.

Prosecutors with 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office requested Tuesday that the juvenile be tried as an adult. The charges are Class 3 and 4 felonies if committed by an adult, meaning the teenager could face 4-12 years in state prison if he is convicted as an adult.

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The juvenile’s next court date is scheduled for May 10.

After a request from the newspaper, Routt County Judge Michael O’Hara III ruled earlier this week that the arrest affidavit filed in this case could be released to the public. Provided by the Routt County Clerk’s Office, the affidavit describes some of the circumstances leading to the juvenile’s arrest.

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The affidavit says officers responded to a home in the 1500 block of Mark Twain Court just after 3 a.m. April 23 after receiving a call from a woman who reported someone wearing a ski mask and a red shirt had entered the home through a sliding door.

The woman was hired by the homeowner to watch over the property and take care of a dog while the homeowner was on vacation. She reportedly told police she was trying to push the burglar out of the home when he used a “large Gerber knife” to stab her in the abdomen. The woman was bleeding profusely when officers arrived at the home, according to the affidavit.

After being transported to UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, the woman was flown to a hospital in Loveland where she was placed in a medically induced coma, according to the affidavit. Authorities reported the woman was in stable condition as of Thursday.

The affidavit describes the juvenile as knowing another juvenile who lives at the home where the incident occurred. The arrest documents show the two teenagers exchanged what appear to be contentious text messages prior to the stabbing, including the suspect saying he was going to the home and later admitting he had vandalized a baby gate at the property.

Officers at the scene said in the affidavit they observed what appeared to “be blood droplets on the back porch leading past the baby gate and down the steps to the back yard fence gate,” along with shoe prints consistent with ‘Crocs,’ the shoe brand.”

Police executed a search warrant at the home of the juvenile’s father in the 3300 block of Columbine Drive on April 23, roughly 12 hours after responding to the stabbing.

The affidavit says officers noticed a large Gerber knife in a sheath on a couch in the living room after entering the residence and that the weapon had a small brown stain on it consistent with a blood stain. Police also found a bloody tissue inside a bathroom trashcan and a pair of Crocs in the garage.

The suspect’s father reportedly told police he saw his son around 10 p.m. April 22 and “didn’t think (his son) left the house but couldn’t be sure.” However, the father later said he knew his son had used his e-bike at some point that night, according to the affidavit.

The arrest document further states the father said he woke his son up just before 11 a.m. April 23 and that the juvenile “mentioned at some point he needed to do laundry.”

The juvenile appeared before O’Hara on April 25 and was ordered to be detained without bond.

On Tuesday, three attorneys with the state’s public defender’s office represented the juvenile, who appeared virtually from the juvenile detention facility in Grand Junction. The juvenile’s parents also appeared virtually, and District Attorney Matt Karzen and Deputy District Attorney Joseph Bucci appeared in court representing the prosecution.

O’Hara noted that the prosecutors have filed a petition requesting the judge rule that the juvenile be tried as an adult. The judge did not rule on the prosecutors’ request Tuesday, but explained to the juvenile that the attempted second-degree murder and attempted first-degree assault charges are Class 3 felonies for adults, and criminal attempt to commit first-degree burglary is a Class 4 felony if committed by an adult.

O’Hara said that if the juvenile suspect is not tried as an adult and found guilty on either or both the attempted murder and assault charges, he would be considered a violent offender under state law and would be committed to a youth corrections facility for up to two years.

If he is tried and sentenced as an adult for either or both the assault and attempted murder charges, O’Hara said the juvenile could face between 4-12 years in state prison and three years of mandatory parole.

The judge also handed down a protection order Tuesday, which included stipulations that the juvenile suspect may not directly or indirectly contact any witnesses or victims to the acts he is charged with committing.

The juvenile asked the judge what was included in the protection order, to which one of the public defenders representing him suggested they speak following the hearing.

Attorneys for the juvenile declined to comment on the proceedings.