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UNC 'Pit' Suspect Back at Central Prison
Mohammed Taheri-azar is back in jail after undergoing a mental evaluation to determine whether he is capable of standing trial.
Posted — UpdatedRALEIGH, N.C. — A man accused of driving a sport utility vehicle through a popular student courtyard at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is back in jail.
Mohammed Taheri-azar was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation at Dorothea Dix Hospital after an expletive-laced tirade during a court appearance in early March.
Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said Taheri-azar, a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, is now at Central Prison in Raleigh on a $5.5 million bond.
A final report will determine whether he is capable of standing trial.
During the March 5 hearing, Taheri-azar, 23, yelled in court that he "hates all Americans" and "hates all Jews" and called his court-appointed attorney a "moron." He also made obscene gestures while he was being removed from the courtroom.
Authorities said Taheri-azar admitted to driving his vehicle into nine people at "the Pit" on the UNC campus in March 2006. No one was seriously injured. Taheri-azar said he did it to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world.
Taheri-azar pleaded not guilty in January to nine counts of attempted first-degree murder and nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious bodily injury. He was scheduled to go to court later in March to begin the pre-trial motions.
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