Police: Arizona hitchhiker arrested in Utah stabbing case

An Arizona man has been arrested in Utah on suspicion of stabbing a woman who picked him up while he was hitchhiking.

Fernando Ray White, 38, was charged with attempted murder Friday in the attack that left the woman with wounds on her face, hands, neck and teeth, police said. He is also a suspect in an unspecified homicide case in Arizona, authorities said in court documents.

The Sacaton, Arizona, man was hitchhiking near the central Utah town of Fillmore when the woman and her sister gave him a ride on Dec. 17, police said. After the attack, they left him on the side of the highway and took the woman to a hospital.

Police found him near the highway with a knife, gun ammunition and drugs, including heroin and methamphetamine. He is being held without bail in Utah.

The public defender's office representing him didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.