Rejean Tabor, 34, is alleged to have strangled a woman while covering her nose and mouth during the incident last Wednesday at the store on Tierra Rejada Road.
Officers responded after a caller reported that a man had gone inside the store and immediately began choking a woman at a checkout counter.
In addition to the attempted murder charge, prosecutors say Tabor faces charges involving four other alleged victims who intervened during the attack. He is accused of biting, hitting and scratching a Good Samaritan.
Tabor did not enter a plea during his first court appearance Monday. He remains in custody.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the alleged attack occurred less than 24 hours after Tabor was released on mandatory supervision following the completion of his sentencing in two separate Ventura County criminal cases.
The woman who was initially attacked was taken to the hospital by her family where she was listed in stable condition. Police said she did not know Tabor.
A teenager who started filming the attack said his father was one of the heroes who intervened.
"Once he started attacking my dad, I knew that there was something wrong," Grant Garbe said.
"We just wanted to save her and help her out," the teen's father said.
The case remains under investigation.