A Quick Arraignment

Read his story: The lawyers in a triple-murder case filed some paperwork, the judge named some dates and then the court officers called the next case: a skinny 17-year-old with a green T-shirt and a petty robbery charge. That was it. In the time it takes to order breakfast, a man was formally arraigned yesterday, accused of being a New York City serial killer.

The accused man, Stephen Sakai, 30, never looked up from his white sneakers, which touched the chains on his ankles, which dangled below the base of his wheelchair, which he had begun using since his arrest. He stayed in it through the short hearing. "He's ill," said his lawyer, Edward D. Wilford, who declined to elaborate.

In court, Mr. Wilford entered not-guilty pleas to three counts of second-degree murder and five weapons charges.