Rape suspect in court

A man charged with raping and stabbing a woman after threatening her 2-year-old boy in the parking lot of a Bennett Valley grocery store made his first court appearance Tuesday.

Aristotle Quadra, 30, is charged with attempted murder, rape and other charges that could mean a life prison term if convicted. He delayed entering a plea on Tuesday and was set to return to court on Monday.

Quadra was arraigned last week in the hospital where he was being treated for apparently self-inflicted stab wounds. Police said he stabbed himself with a homemade spear as they were entering his home to serve a search warrant.

Investigators believe Quadra attacked a 29-year-old woman about 6 p.m. on Feb. 7 as she loaded groceries into her car. They said he threatened to hurt the boy unless she did as he demanded.

The man, holding an ice pick, then forced the woman to drive them to another location, where he bound and raped her and then stabbed her between 10 and 20 times, police said.

She was able to walk to a nearby health care facility for help. The boy wasn’t physically harmed. The woman was released from the hospital four days later.

Quadra also was hospitalized several days. In court Tuesday, he appeared pain-free and engaged in quiet conversation with his attorney.

Defense attorney Steve Spiegelman told Judge Ken Gnoss he needed more time to discuss the case with his client before a plea was entered.

On Monday, Quadra is expected to enter a plea and seek a bail hearing. He is currently being held without bail at Sonoma County Jail.