Cops: Man charged in Hempstead bodega stabbing

A man who police said had been slashed and stabbed by an unknown assailant during an argument at a Hempstead bodega in October saw his alleged attacker at a local laundry Monday afternoon and called police, who arrested the suspect.

Modesto Manzanales, 44, of Maybell Street, Hempstead, was arrested at the laundry on Clinton Street in Hempstead by Hempstead police just before 4 p.m., police said. He was charged with first-degree assault and two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned Tuesday in First District Court in Hempstead, where bail on the assault charge was set at $50,000 and bond at $100,000. He was remanded to the Nassau County Correctional Center and is due back in court Feb. 2.

Manzanales was involved in an argument with a 32-year-old man inside the Bodega Hispana on Clinton Street at about 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, police said. When the argument escalated, police said Manzanales slashed and stabbed the victim "about the face, arms and body." He then fled the scene, police said.

The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.

It was not clear what provoked the argument.

Police said the victim was at the laundry Monday when he saw Manzanales and recognized him as the man who attacked him.

It was not clear if the victim and attacker knew each other or if the attack was random.