Man ordered held in Bethesda mall stabbing

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Police tape ropes off access to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda Thursday afternoon where a man and a woman were stabbed in a parking garage. (WTOP/Finn Neilsen)

WASHINGTON – A Montgomery County judge Friday denied bond for the 24-year-old man charged with stabbing two people in a Bethesda, Md. mall parking garage Thursday afternoon.

David Goldberg, of Potomac, Md., appeared via video screen for his hearing in Montgomery County District Court sporting a green jumpsuit. He faces nine charges – including two first degree attempted murder charges – in the stabbings of Clifton Botts, 31, and Rachel Peterson, 28, in the parking lot of the Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda.

An investigation revealed that Goldberg and the victims got into an argument in their respective cars, which then spilled over into a mall parking lot near a Sears store. Goldberg drove away from the scene, but soon returned to confront the victims. It was that particular action that Judge Gary Everngam cited in his decision to deny the request for bond.

Charging documents state that Goldberg tried to run the victims over with his car. Goldberg allegedly stabbed the two victims as the trio fought in the parking lot, then got back into his car and sped away. He was later found on top of an adjacent mall parking deck and taken into custody.

Peterson was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, and Botts was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officials discovered Goldberg’s 2-year-old daughter in the back seat of his car.

Goldberg is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in December. He could get life in prison if convicted of the attempted first-degree murder charges.

Fight over traffic rules ends in stabbing

Andrew Mollenbeck, WTOP

WTOP’s Andrew Mollenbeck and Thomas Warren contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.

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