Two wheelchair-bound men in a New York shelter got into a name-calling argument that ended with one man stabbed dead and cops struggling to explain why they missed a chance to break up the fatal feud with an arrest.
The deadly episode began around 3:30 a.m. when the men, both paralyzed, got into an argument in the cafeteria of Freedom House on East 2nd Street. Others at the shelter said the victim, Ronal Garcia, 24, "had a really foul mouth," and would often get into arguments with older residents.
The alleged stabber, Felipe Cruz, 52, had been drinking and had a bad reputation for being a hothead when he consumed alcohol. "[Cruz] was talking about his [Garcia’s] genitals — you have a short one this, you have a short one that," said Garcia’s roommate, Norbert Toledo.
That prompted Garcia to remove the footrest from his wheelchair and strike Cruz with it twice on the head, knocking him out of his chair. "[Shelter officials] called the police in. They saw Felipe on the floor. Felipe told police he was hurt, but the police just thought he was drunk and fell out of his chair," said Toledo.
"Felipe pointed out cameras and said he wanted to press charges. But the cops just sent the boy [Garcia] upstairs." After they left, Cruz, who used a motorized wheelchair, went to his room and got a homemade knife.
In a shelter hallway, Cruz zoomed up to Garcia, who had a slower manual wheelchair, and stabbed him repeatedly. A security guard wrested the knife away from Felipe. Garcia was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:20 a.m. Cruz was arrested and charged with murder.
No comments:
Post a Comment