Woman charged with murder after postal worker stabbed to death in Harlem deli
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- A woman has been charged after a USPS worker was stabbed and killed inside a deli while on the job in Harlem on Thursday afternoon, police said.
Jaia Cruz, 24, of Harlem was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in the death of 36-year-old Ray Hodge III, according to police.
Officers responded to the deli at 168 Lenox Avenue after 2:30 p.m. and found Hodge stabbed or slashed multiple times inside the deli, including in the torso, arms, back and neck.
He was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem where he was pronounced dead.
Police say the attack appears to have stemmed from a dispute between two customers over who ordered first, then turned physical.
A weapon has been recovered.
"I know the guys that deliver mail," said resident Uzo Guchiaschi. "And just like this he's gone. It's very scary. It's very, very scary."
Eyewitness News spoke to a friend of the person of interest, and while she did not know what, or why this happened, she said it's not in her friend's character to have attacked someone without a reason. She said her friend wouldn't have hurt someone unless provoked.
"She's a nice young lady. She is not the type that just come out in the street an attacking people," the friend said. "This is just a bad neighborhood. What happened -- I have no idea because I was not around yet. I don't know, but I do know, if she said it was in self defense, it was in self defense."
Meanwhile, a group of distraught postal workers arrived on the scene, solemn and visibly shaken, struggling with how to process what happened to their colleague.
"All I'm going to say is he was a nice young man. That's it," said postal worker Kathy Singleton.
They say he went into the deli to buy a sandwich when the confrontation unfolded.
Deli workers had a similar account, telling Eyewitness News that the dispute was over a sandwich and who placed their order first.
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) released a statement confirming that the postal worker was assigned to Manhattan, and was the victim of a homicide.
"USPIS takes matters involving the safety and wellbeing of postal service employees as a top priority. We are working diligently with the New York City Police Department on this investigation," the statement said.
It's unclear what weapon the postal worker was stabbed and slashed with.
Cruz was arraigned on Friday and held without bail. Her next court date is scheduled for Jan. 8.
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