The USPS employee killed Thursday at a Harlem deli was enjoying a routine shift when he crossed paths with a crazed woman who spat in his face and then shoved a knife into his stomach, witnesses told the Post. told.
Ray Hodges had just delivered a package when he snuck into his usual lunch spot and got into an altercation with alleged killer Jaire Cruz.
A deli worker manning the grill said multiple customers tried to separate the two after Cruz started arguing.
“[Ray Hodges] He was counting money at the store to see how much he had to order. She came in after him, carrying a bag that she had probably bought from the supermarket. She put her bag by the coffee machine and came to order,” an employee who declined to give his name told the Post.
“He told her he was going to order a sandwich, and she started arguing with him,” he continued.
“I told him it wasn't worth it.”
Multiple people inside the store were able to separate the two men, but Cruz continued to chase Hodges. Hodges' loved ones said he was a “great man” and a doting father of two.
Even the employee stood in the middle of the two men to break up the fight, but the situation escalated when Cruz started shouting profanities at the victim.
“I was in the middle and he was in front of me and she came up behind me and spat in his face,” the deli employee recalled.
“When he heard this, he became furious and threw a bottle of lemon juice at her.”
“Then she came at him with a knife and I had to move.”
Crews allegedly stabbed Hodges in the neck and abdomen, and he and other customers called 911, officials said.
Hodges was rushed to Harlem Hospital, where he died from his injuries, police said.
Just minutes before the brutal killing, Hodges was speaking with customers, including 34-year-old Alejandro Alarcon.
“He's my mailman. Just yesterday, I asked him — I said I'm waiting in my Under Armor shorts, and I don't want to go upstairs to get my keys, so please check. I asked for it. He opened it for me,” Alarcón told The Post Friday.
“Then I went upstairs to walk the dog and when I came out maybe 15 minutes later, his cart was [in front the deli]. The yellow tape was here. There was blood everywhere. They had just taken him. ”
Alarcón recalled the mailman as a “really nice guy” who did everything he could to help customers.
“Literally on a sandwich? Literally, who ordered it first? That person couldn't let it go?” he continued.
The violent killing has left Alarcón and his neighbors in crisis, he said.
“I come to this deli all the time. I buy my detergent here, I buy my coffee here, I buy my bagels here. Now I'm scared to go into this deli or any other deli,” she said in Harlem. the resident said.
“The mayor needs to fix this problem. I had a family that was supposed to come visit me for Christmas, and I told them, “The city is not safe, so please don't come visit me.'' I did.”
Cruz has since been charged with murder and is awaiting arraignment.
