Iraqi man accused of running over daughter arrested in Atlanta

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Iraqi national accused of running over his daughter and a family friend in Arizona has been taken into custody in Atlanta.

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AP Faleh Almaleki, an Iraqi immigrant accused of running down his daughter in Arizona with his car because she was becoming "too Westernized," had eluded authorities for 10 days.

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Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, apparently believed his 20-year-old daughter, Noor Faleh Almaleki, had become "too Westernized," according to Peoria, Ariz., police. On Oct. 20, he hit his daughter and her friend Amal Edan Khalaf  as they walked in the parking lot of a government building. Almaleki then ran over the two women with his Jeep Laredo, police said.

"He fled the scene, but one of the women recognized him," according to Jay Davies, spokesman for Peoria police.  Almaleki's daughter remains in a coma and Khalaf is in serious condition.

Almaleki was taken into custody Thursday afternoon at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to James Ergas with the U.S. Marshals. He had been on the run since the incident, which took place about 11 miles west of Phoenix.

After hitting the women, police say Almaleki drove to Mexico, where he ditched his Jeep and bought a plane ticket from Mexico City to London. But when he arrived in London, he was detained by British authorities and denied entry into the country, Davies said. London police learned Almaleki was a wanted man because of his passport, Davies said.

British authorities then contacted United States police, and Almaleki was put on a flight to the U.S. He was arrested shortly after his plane arrived, around 2:15 p.m.

Almaleki will be extradited to Arizona, where he will face two counts of aggravated assault, Davies said.

Almaleki has lived in Arizona for more than a decade. He previously lived in Detroit.