A gunman on the run for allegedly beating a homeless man to death was arrested after being caught by police drinking in public on a Bronx street, prosecutors and sources said.
Jorel Shoals, 37, whose last known address was in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, was arrested Tuesday evening after officers observed him consuming an alcoholic beverage in public, according to police and officials.
Shoals was due to be summoned to criminal court for the misdemeanor alone, but police checked his background and discovered he was wanted in the June 23 murder of Ramon Cruz, 54, prosecutors and officials said.
Prosecutors said Cruz was sleeping on the sidewalk on Willis Avenue near East 149th Street in Mott Haven around 11 p.m. when Shoals attacked him.
According to the Bronx District Attorney's Office, the man then violently struck Cruz in the head multiple times with both fists, causing Cruz to slam his head into the ground.
Cruz was rushed to Lincoln Medical Center, where he suffered a seizure and fell into a coma a few days later, according to the district attorney's office.
He died at a hospital on July 17 from complications from blunt force trauma, according to prosecutors.
“The defendant allegedly approached the male as he was sleeping and began striking him in the head multiple times for no apparent reason,” said Darcel D. Clark of the Bronx District Attorney's Office. “The victim sustained severe injuries, went into a coma and later died from his injuries.”
Police said Shoals had no prior arrests and was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, the district attorney's office said in a statement.
He was held without bail and ordered to return to court on December 19th.
