Guillermo Alfonso Alvarado Ajcuc, 21, of Riverhead, strangled Mirian Garcia to death with his belt as he raped her outside a Riverhead shopping center on May 6, according to prosecutors.

Alvarado Ajcuc, charged with second-degree murder, was arraigned in Riverhead Justice Court Thursday morning, where he entered a plea of not guilty. He was represented by attorney Eileen Powers of Riverhead, an assigned public defender.

Speaking through a translator, Alvarado Ajcuc told the court he is an undocumented day laborer who lives in Riverhead with his father. He has been in the United States for four years, he said.

Prosecutors said the rape and murder occurred at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, May 6.

Garcia's body was discovered the next morning in the wooded area outside the Route 58 shopping center where she was last seen Saturday night at Sabor Latino Restaurant, according to police. The 29-year-old woman was also a Guatemalen immigrant, police said.

Assistant District Attorney Glenn Kurtzrock told the court felony charges against the defendant will be presented to a Suffolk County grand jury on Tuesday, May 22.

Riverhead Town Justice Allen Smith warned Alvarado Ajcuc that he faces deportation from the United States as a result of the charges brought against him.

Because of his immigration status, Alvarado Ajcuc is not eligible for bail and was remanded to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility.

Suffolk Police announced the arrest early this morning. See story.

A level 3 registered sex offender is facing felony charges of attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon after he allegedly dragged a woman at knifepoint into the woods near the Riverside traffic circle Saturday night.

Southampton police said the female victim was walking along the sidewalk in the vicinity of the bus stop near the circle at about 10 p.m. Saturday when Benjamin S. Griffin, 57, brandishing a knife, allegedly dragged her off the sidewalk and into a nearby wooded area. Griffin forced her to the ground, but the victim struggled with her attacker and was able to break free, according to police.

The attacker fled but was located by police a short time later, police said.

Griffin is a level 3 registered sex offender who was convicted in 1983 of first degree rape and first degree sexual assault in an attack at knifepoint on a female victim, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services sex offender registry.

A level 3 offender is one classified as having a high risk of committing a repeat offense and is considered a threat to public safety, according to the division of criminal justice services.

After his 1983 conviction, Griffin was sentenced to 13 1/2 to 27 years in state prison, according to the registry. As a level 3 offender, Griffin is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. His last registered address was 62 Cypress Avenue in Flanders, according to the registry's website.