The man suspected of cutting a University of Colorado freshman on his first day of classes Monday was sent to a state mental hospital in 2001 after being accused of stabbing a 21-year-old Longmont man.

Court records show that Kenton Drew Astin pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and felony possession of narcotics.

According to Camera archives, Astin, who was a 33-year-old transient at the time, told Boulder police that he walked into the Salvation Army store and saw a barefoot man who had both of his ears pierced and a tattoo on his right leg. The two men had never met before.

Police said Astin didn't like the way the man looked so he took a knife out of his bag and tried stabbing him in the chest.

The victim, Dylan Trembley, received cuts on his right hand and the back of one of his ankles. He also had some swelling on his left cheek.

Astin’s criminal history in Colorado includes three previous arrests, for trespassing, larceny and failure to appear in court, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The bureau reports that he has several aliases, including "Dylan Klebold" — the name of one of two gunman who killed 12 fellow students and a teacher at Columbine High School in 1999.

CU’s student newspaper, the Campus Press, is reporting that Astin lived in a house on 19th Street that residents said is a home for the mentally ill.

His roomate Pete Boger, 59, told the Campus Press that Astin may have worked at the University Memorial Center busing tables at least six months ago.

"He’s a straight arrow. He’s never done anything bizarre," Boger told the Campus Press, according to the paper’s Web site.