T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Aryan Summer Alvarez is facing one charge of felonious assault and one charge of drug possession after allegedly stabbing Bellaire McDonald’s employee.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A woman accused of stabbing a Bellaire McDonald’s employee appeared in Belmont County Eastern Division Court on Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing.

Aryan Summer Alvarez, 30, is facing one charge of felonious assault and one charge of drug possession.

Alvarez is accused of stabbing a McDonald’s employee multiple times, leaving him with a puncture wound on the left side of his body.

Prosecutor Joshua Norman called Bellaire Police Officer Jake Lennox as a witness Thursday and asked him to recall the events of the incident.

“There were multiple calls that came in. The first call came in that there were two people inside arguing with the manager. Then we got a call again that there was a stabbing. Then another call came in saying that there was no stabbing. And then another call came in saying that it was a stabbing. Upon my arrival, when I got there, I went into the clinic [Bellaire Health Center] by McDonald’s. One other officer was inside with the victim, and he gave me a description of the female,” Lennox said.

Norman asked Lennox what description he was given, to which he replied it was a female wearing a red top and pink pajamas.

He then asked Lennox if the alleged offender was in the courtroom. Lennox said she was, and Norman asked him to identify her. Lennox pointed to Alvarez.

After receiving Alvarez’s description and learning she had been spotted on Monroe Street, Lennox went to the area, located her and detained her.

During the detention, Lennox said he found 3 grams of methamphetamine and a gold dagger in her personal bag.

Lennox said the victim’s puncture wound was consistent with the shape of the dagger found on Alvarez at the time of her arrest.

According to Lennox, Alvarez was at McDonald’s with Kody Vinka, who became involved in a fistfight with the alleged victim.

“Aryan goes over, kicks and punches him, and then she runs back to her purse, she grabs something out of it, she runs back over, and she swings and hits him in the side,” Lennox said.

He added that a witness recorded a cellphone video that shows the victim grabbing his upper left side after the alleged weapon was swung.

Public defender Cole Antolak asked Lennox if his client made any statements after she was detained.

Lennox said Alvarez initially denied being at McDonald’s but later claimed she acted in self-defense.

Antolak said he was aware the alleged victim sought hospital treatment but asked whether Vinka sustained any injuries. Lennox said he was unsure because he did not speak with Vinka or the witness.

Antolak then asked what started the fight.

“From all that I got it was just over a cheeseburger that was at McDonald’s,” Lennox said.

Norman told Eastern Division Judge David Trouten that Alvarez’s bond was set at $20,000 but argued it should be higher due to the severity of the case.

Antolak disagreed, saying the original bond was appropriate.

Trouten considered both arguments before increasing Alvarez’s bond to $50,000.

He said that if Alvarez posts bail, she is not to have any contact with the witness or go to the Bellaire McDonald’s or any McDonald’s location.

“The court will find that the state has met its burden of proof for preliminary hearing purposes,” Trouten said. “This matter will be bound over to the Court of Common Pleas and the grand jury for further proceedings.”