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Avni Elkat, 59, drove up from his home in Stafford, Texas in an attempt to collect from the 51-year-old rug dealer, Sgt. Michael Martic said Tuesday night.
Elkat had been in litigation with the man for several years, apparently with no satisfaction, over payment for rugs he'd made for him.
Elkat had lost his wife and his business and was in debt when he apparently decided to take matters into his own hands.
After meeting at a Turkish social club in Fairview, he and the victim drove to a local park in Elkat's car, Martic said.
They were trying to negotiate a settlement, he said, when Elkat suddenly pulled out a buck knife and stabbed the rug dealer in the left quad.
Responding officers caught him driving the wrong way up a one-way street a few blocks away, the sergeant said.
The victim needed stitches to close the wound, he said.
Elkat was being held in the Bergen County Jail on charges of aggravated assault, weapons possession and making terroristic threats to the victim and family members.
He also had outstanding warrants out of Cresskill, Palisades Park and Secaucus, records show.
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