NORTHWOOD — A Minnesota man charged with assaulting a woman in a Worth County hotel room has pleaded not guilty.

Late on the night of December 1st, the Worth County Sheriff’s Department says a woman from Minneapolis who was staying at the Holiday Inn near the Diamond Jo Casino near Northwood told law enforcement that a man and another female asked to stay in her room because they were too drunk to drive. The victim says the two started to destroy the room she was staying in, and when she told them to stop, the male suspect punched her in the face and started to strangle her.

40-year-old Abdirizak Mohammed of Columbia Heights and 32-year-old Kadra Bashir of Minneapolis were both arrested and charged with willful injury causing serious injury, a Class C felony punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Mohammed was scheduled to be in Worth County District Court on Tuesday for his arraignment hearing, but he recently filed a written plea of not guilty to the charge. His trial is scheduled to start on February 20th.

Bashir was also scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment hearing on Tuesday, but a continuance has been granted until February 4th.