LOGAN, Utah, May 29, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A Logan man is being held without bail on multiple felony charges after allegedly attacking a woman with a frying pan after he invited her to his residence.
Muhannad Khalaf A Alshammari, 23, is charged on suspicion of:
- Aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony
- Three counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony
- Threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor
The case against Alshammari began with the alleged victim filing a delayed report on a Dec. 14, 2019 incident, according to a probable cause statement. The victim provided medical records and photographs of her injuries to back up her claims, the PC statement said.
The alleged victim told police she came to Logan to meet Alshammari, with whom she had a prior “intimate relationship.”
She said the night of the incident, a dispute began and “Alshammari went into the kitchen and returned with a metal skillet.” The victim told police Alshammari began striking her with the pan until she was able to take it away.
“The suspect then punched her in the head multiple times, causing what she later believed was an orbital fracture around the eye,” the PC statement alleged. The victim told police Alshammari then grabbed her by the throat, and she fell back against a wall.
The woman told police she was forced to remain for about six hours before Alshammari got tired and she was able to leave, the statement says.
Alshammari was questioned by the Logan Police Department earlier this week and denied the accusations point by point, the PC statement said.
He claimed he got the pan from the kitchen “intending just to scare the victim” and she “pulled the pan from him and hit him with the pan.”
Alshammari also denied ever placing his hands on the victim’s throat, police said.
When asked about a message he sent the victim the day after the assault saying he almost became a murderer, he allegedly told police he did it “so the victim understood how angry he was.”
Alshammari is being held without bail, as the court considers him a flight risk, citing he is from Saudi Arabia with no family ties to Utah.
The PC statement indicated Alshammari came to the U.S. to attend flight school, but his instruction had stopped due to an alleged lack of payment.
