IRON MOUNTAIN — A 15-year-old male accused of stabbing an Iron Mountain convenience store clerk Feb. 22 declined Wednesday in Dickinson County Probate Court to waive his preliminary examination on a charge of assault with intent to commit murder.

The teen, who is not being named because he is a juvenile, appeared before Judge Thomas Slagle via video conferencing from the Sault Tribe Youth Facility, a juvenile detention center in St. Ignace.

The hearing was continued to March 18 to allow both sides time to prepare after the teen decided to have the preliminary examination.

According to the criminal complaint, the teen asked the 22-year-old woman at the Krist Oil store, 1017 S. Stephenson Ave., for help getting some items from a cooler just after 9 p.m. Feb. 22. When she bent over, he stabbed her three times in the back with a large kitchen knife he’d apparently brought to the store, authorities said.

The teen fled on foot but was found a short time later inside the McDonald’s restaurant on U.S. 2, just south of the convenience store.

The woman was treated for her injuries and released from Dickinson County Memorial Hospital.

Although the defendant is a juvenile with no prior record, he will be tried in the same manner as an adult, according to court documents.

Assault with intent to commit murder is a felony punishable by up to life in prison.