Arrest made after mother of 3 randomly stabbed at East Elmhurst bus stop
The suspect was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon
EAST ELMHURST, Queens (WABC) -- A man was arrested and charged in the apparent random stabbing of a mother of three at a Queens bus stop earlier this week.
Luis Emmanuel Valencia Ponce, 18, surrendered to the 115th police precinct Thursday morning after the release of very clear surveillance video Wednesday.
Valencia Ponce was arraigned Thursday night, and charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered held without bail.
The 29-year-old victim was waiting to cross the street along 23rd Avenue and 94th Street as she headed to a bus stop just before 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday.
Police say the victim was stabbed twice in the left arm, once in the elbow and once in the back.
The suspect ran away but police tracked him down using surveillance video captured from a nearby business.
In a twist, Valencia Ponce was in police custody for a separate incident this week.
After the stabbing, Valencia Ponce fled to nearby John F. Kennedy International Airport, demanding to board a flight to Peru, were his family is from, but he had no passport or boarding pass, and there was no flight.
Port Authority police detained him and took him to the hospital for an examination. At this point, surveillance had not yet been recovered that identifiedValencia Ponce as a suspect. He was evaluated and released.
Officials say Valencia Ponce lives in a basement apartment with his father, who saw the surveillance images some time after his son was released from the hospital, and convinced him to turn himself in around midnight on Thursday.
Officials say he has no prior arrests and no documented history of mental illness.
The victim's husband said she is on the mend but still recovering at the hospital.
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