An attempted homicide charge against a New York man accused of stabbing a co-worker in the chest during a July altercation outside of a Bethlehem Township hotel was held for court in a preliminary hearing Thursday, The Express-Times reported.

Despite claims that Asani Wahid Elliott, 19, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was acting in self-defense, District Judge Joseph Barner declined to drop the attempted homicide charge against him. The matter now moves on to Northampton County Court.

Elliott is accused of stabbing Vincent Dukes, 23, of Alverne, N.Y., in the chest with a five-inch serrated steak knife outside the Comfort Inn hotel on Highland Drive on July 5. The blow punctured Dukes’ left lung and caused the left side of his lung to collapse, according to court papers.

The melee began when Dukes became upset that he could not buy alcohol at the state Wine & Spirits Shop at the Bethlehem Square Shopping Center along Route 191, one eyewitness told police. Dukes blamed Elliott, who entered the liquor store with a group of co-workers even though he is under age.

Another eyewitness told Bethlehem Township police that the men were part of a team of employees from Respond Power, a Brooklyn-based energy company that was in the area trying to sell the company’s services to local customers.

Elliott remains in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail.