a Rhode Island A man who fled the United States and pretended his death to avoid prosecution for rape and financial fraud has been arrested in Scotland after skipping his court date, officials said on Thursday.
Police Scotland said the officer arrested Nicolas Alhawardian in the Woodlands area of Glasgow after a warrant was issued by Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court earlier in the day. The 34-year-old, who has gone under several other aliases, is now in court on Friday.
A police spokesman referred other follow-up questions to the Crown Office of Scotland, which oversees the prosecution, but a spokesman for that agency declined to comment. Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court spokesmen also did not return emails seeking comment.
The office of Utah County Attorney David Levitt, which has accused Alhawardian in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah, declined to comment on the extradition proceedings.
“We once again express our gratitude to the law enforcement agencies for working hard in this case to bring this person to justice,” he said in a statement.
It is unclear whether Alhawardian has a lawyer; An email seeking comment was sent to the “Alhawardian Family Office,” which sent a notice regarding his funeral and memorial service in Rhode Island in 2020.
Elahwardian was discovered last month at a hospital in Glasgow, named Arthur Knight, after becoming critically ill with Covid-19. He was granted bail last week as he awaits extradition to the US, WPRI-TV reports.
Levitt’s office says that Alhawardian, then known as Nicolas Rossi, sexually assaulted an ex-girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008.
Rhode Island officials have said that he is also wanted for failing to register as a sex offender in his state and FBI has said that he is facing fraud charges in Ohio, where he was also convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.
In recent years, Alhawardian has been an outspoken critic of Rhode Island. Department of Child, Youth and Family, testifying before state lawmakers about sexual abuse and harassment while in foster care.
Then in 2020, he told local media outlets that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live.
An obituary published online claimed he died on February 29, 2020, but until last year, Rhode Island State Police, Alhawardian’s former attorney and former foster family were publicly doubting whether he really died Was.
Police Scotland said the officer arrested Nicolas Alhawardian in the Woodlands area of Glasgow after a warrant was issued by Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court earlier in the day. The 34-year-old, who has gone under several other aliases, is now in court on Friday.
A police spokesman referred other follow-up questions to the Crown Office of Scotland, which oversees the prosecution, but a spokesman for that agency declined to comment. Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court spokesmen also did not return emails seeking comment.
The office of Utah County Attorney David Levitt, which has accused Alhawardian in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah, declined to comment on the extradition proceedings.
“We once again express our gratitude to the law enforcement agencies for working hard in this case to bring this person to justice,” he said in a statement.
It is unclear whether Alhawardian has a lawyer; An email seeking comment was sent to the “Alhawardian Family Office,” which sent a notice regarding his funeral and memorial service in Rhode Island in 2020.
Elahwardian was discovered last month at a hospital in Glasgow, named Arthur Knight, after becoming critically ill with Covid-19. He was granted bail last week as he awaits extradition to the US, WPRI-TV reports.
Levitt’s office says that Alhawardian, then known as Nicolas Rossi, sexually assaulted an ex-girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008.
Rhode Island officials have said that he is also wanted for failing to register as a sex offender in his state and FBI has said that he is facing fraud charges in Ohio, where he was also convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.
In recent years, Alhawardian has been an outspoken critic of Rhode Island. Department of Child, Youth and Family, testifying before state lawmakers about sexual abuse and harassment while in foster care.
Then in 2020, he told local media outlets that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live.
An obituary published online claimed he died on February 29, 2020, but until last year, Rhode Island State Police, Alhawardian’s former attorney and former foster family were publicly doubting whether he really died Was.
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