OGDEN — An Ogden man pleaded guilty Thursday to repeatedly stabbing a man in the head with a metal spike, an attack doctors told police could have been fatal.

Ogden police arrested Stephen R. Ramirez, 41, on April 29 after he approached the victim, who was standing in line at a downtown convenience store.

Officers said the attack was unprovoked, although the pair had previous altercations, according to charging documents.

Video surveillance showed Ramirez lunging at the victim with a punching motion to the head, gripping a 4-inch-long spike in his hand. Hospital staff reported to police the victim suffered a broken nose, a facial fracture, a puncture that penetrated his ear canal to the nose canal, and a second puncture from his ear canal down to his neck. Hospital staff said the depth of the wounds could have caused more severe injury or death.

In a plea bargain introduced Thursday in 2nd District Court, Ramirez pleaded guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault. In return, the Weber County Attorney’s Office agreed to drop a third-degree felony charge of use of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.

Prosecutors also agreed to recommend at sentencing that Ramirez be sentenced to probation rather than prison time. A conviction on the third-degree felony charge carries a term of up to five years in prison, but judges sometimes suspend the sentences and order a defendant to serve jail time or probation.

The agreement also says prosecutors will not oppose a reduction of the conviction if Ramirez successfully completes probation.

Judge Michael DiReda scheduled sentencing for Aug. 12.