Yonkers police arrested a teenager Tuesday afternoon in connection with a fatal movie theater stabbing over the weekend.
Authorities say 16-year-old Michael Pettiford, of Yonkers, got into an argument with 19-year-old Diaj Thomas around 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the lobby of the Ridge Hill theater.
They say Pettiford stabbed Thomas, who was an employee at the theater, and then fled the scene. The alleged murder weapon was recovered at the scene.
Thomas had just started working at the movie theater a few days before his death.
Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner says it's believed that the stabbing was the result of a prior incident, but there was no concrete word on a motive.
Pettiford, who is being charged as an adult, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder at his arraignment Wednesday morning. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Earlier this week, Thomas' mother told News 12 that another son of hers was shot and killed in the Bronx in 2003.