A farmworker stabbed multiple times by a coworker in a field west of Guadalupe was airlifted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a field worker, Ricky Chavolla, 21, following a stabbing at 1:30 p.m. in the 6800 block of West Main Street, west of Guadalupe, according to Kelly Hoover, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

Officers from the Guadalupe Police Department responded to the incident and later handed the case over to sheriff’s deputies since it happened outside city limits, Public Safety Director Gary Hoving said.

Guadalupe police located Chavolla sitting on the side of the road, not far from where the stabbing occurred, Hoover said.

“At this point, it appears the victim and the suspect were unknown to each other and the stabbing appears to have been unprovoked,” Hoover said.

Chavolla, a transient from the Santa Maria area, was on his first day of a job cutting broccoli, Hoover added.

The 24-year-old Santa Maria man who was stabbed was in serious condition when he was taken by CalSTAR air ambulance to the hospital but is expected to survive his injuries, Hoover added.

She said Chavolla will be booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of attempted homicide.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.