Young man pleads not guilty in alleged stabbing of sleeping mother and brother

EL CAJON (CNS) – A young man accused of fatally stabbing his mother while she slept, then stabbing and seriously wounding his younger brother, pleaded not guilty this week to charges of murder and premeditated attempted murder.

Mohammed Raad Agab, 20, was ordered held on $2 million bail.

Deputy District Attorney Andy Aguilar told Judge Evan Kirvin that Agab stabbed his 39-year-old mother, Majida, at least 13 times with a kitchen knife in an unprovoked attack. The defendant subsequently stabbed his 14-year-old brother, the prosecutor alleged.

Officers responding to a report of a family dispute about 1 a.m. Friday in the 500 block of Ballantyne Street found the mortally wounded woman on a staircase. The teenage victim was found in a parking lot at the complex, also suffering from serious stab wounds.

Police disclosed no suspected motive for the stabbings.

A readiness conference was scheduled for June 12 and a preliminary hearing for June 17.