Two men stabbed near Madame Tussauds wax museum in Times Square over the weekend were the victims of a drug deal gone bad, law-enforcement sources said.
Suspect Pedro Nieves Diaz, 23, admitted to “hitting both of the victims while having a knife in his hand,” prosecutors said during his arraignment in Manhattan criminal court Tuesday.
He was arraigned on charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon . He was held on $200,000 bail.
Diaz’s relationship with Ashley Arcuri, who was with him at the time of the stabbing and arraigned earlier in the day, was not clear.
The woman, 19, scurried out of court after being charged in the sale of Xanax, and released without bail.