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A 41-year-old Gaithersburg man was arrested May 21 in connection with a murder attempt almost a week earlier, police announced Tuesday evening.

Diego Pena Lopez was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, attempted first-degree murder and possession of a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure, Gaithersburg police said.

In the early hours of May 15, Lopez approached another man at an apartment complex in the unit block of North Summit Drive in Gaithersburg and stabbed the man three times in the left thigh and right bicep, police said.

Officers were sent to the scene at 2:18 a.m. and found the injured man on a balcony; he was taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to a police press release.

Lopez had already fled on foot, police said.

Lopez went to his job May 15 and asked for his last check because "he had a problem and needed to leave the area," according to charging documents.

A warrant for his arrest was issued May 17 and Lopez turned himself in at the Gaithersburg police station the following Saturday, Officer Dan Lane said.

He gave police a home address in the complex where the stabbing occurred.

Lane said the crime was not gang-related and Lopez was drunk at the time.

He is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center and has a June 17 hearing scheduled in District Court.

No attorney is listed for Lopez in court records; a home phone number was not available.

dgaines@gazette.net