Homeless man fatally stabbed Riverhead man after food cart dispute, prosecutors say
A homeless man fatally stabbed a Riverhead man last week after a dispute at a shish kebab cart in Jackson Heights, according to Queens prosecutors.
John Daves, 32, was arraigned Monday in Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens and was charged with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
“The defendant used a knife to settle a fight and now, because of this senseless act of violence, a 25-year-old young man is dead," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. "The defendant faces a very long term of incarceration for his alleged actions.”
David Louis Cohen, Daves' Kew Gardens-based attorney, said his client contends he was acting in self-defense.
Daves was waiting in line at a food cart on Thursday at about 9:40 p.m. on 80th Street and Roosevelt Avenue when he got into a verbal altercation with the victim, Miguel Angel Becerra-Perez, prosecutors said.
Daves grabbed a knife from the food cart and is seen on video surveillance chasing Becerra-Perez down the block, officials said. Daves eventually caught up with Becerra-Perez, pulled him to the ground and stabbed him in the chest and right arm, prosecutors said.
Becerra-Perez later died from his injuries.
Queens Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny ordered Daves held without bail. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
Daves is due back in court on Oct. 30.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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