  
| 
| |||||||||||||||||
Halloween assault suspect held without bond
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSNEW YORK (CNN) -- A man accused of posing as a firefighter to enter a woman's apartment and then sexually assaulting her on Halloween has been arraigned and ordered held without bond, the Manhattan district attorney's office said. The arraignment was held early Tuesday. Suspect Peter Braunstein, a 41-year-old freelance writer, had been moved from Tennessee after waiving extradition. The district attorney's office said a public defender made a request for a psychiatric evaluation of Braunstein. His next court appearance will be Friday, when charges against him will be formalized, the district attorney's office said. Braunstein will be charged with kidnapping, sexual abuse, robbery and burglary in connection with what police said was a 12-hour assault, Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, said Monday. Braunstein led police on a cross-country chase that ended Thursday in Memphis, where he stabbed himself in the neck when police at the University of Memphis confronted him after a university employee recognized him and alerted police. Memphis police took custody of the suspect Saturday after he spent two days at Memphis' Regional Medical Center for treatment of his wound. They charged him with aggravated assault and carrying a weapon on school property with the "intent to harm." New York City officials tracked suspectThe Memphis judge dropped those charges Monday, paving the way for the expected extradition. "We felt the charges in New York were much more serious, and they are anxious to get him up in New York," said Jennifer Donnalf, communications director for the Shelby County district attorney. New York City officials have been following Braunstein's movements across the country, first to Cleveland, Ohio, and then Tennessee, since November 2, when they believe he left town. The New York Police Department said that, based on an "America's Most Wanted" tip obtained December 12, they determined that Braunstein had donated blood at Tennessee Blood Services in Memphis on November 28 after identifying himself as a freelance writer. Braunstein, who received $20 for his blood donation, told workers that he needed money to get to Kansas. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
