A 48-year-old man was stabbed to death early Friday following an argument outside a Colombian restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, and police have arrested a 38-year-old suspect in connection with the killing. The victim, identified as Angel Marcelo Escalante Gamazo, lived just steps away from where he was attacked.
According to New York Daily News, Escalante Gamazo got into an argument with his attacker outside Los Arrieros restaurant near Roosevelt Avenue and 76th Street around 4 a.m. He was stabbed during the confrontation, and medics rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he later died.
Police said Escalante Gamazo resided on Roosevelt Avenue near the site of the killing, meaning the fatal encounter took place practically on his doorstep. Officers arrested Jose L. Rodriguez Balda, 38, of Flushing, for the killing. Investigators said Rodriguez Balda had no prior arrests in New York.
Charges Carry Steep Mandatory Prison Time
Rodriguez Balda has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Second-degree murder under New York Penal Law § 125.25 is a Class A-I felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence ranging from 15 years to life in prison upon conviction, according to Konta Georges & Buza P.C. The weapons charge, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree under Penal Law § 265.03, is a Class C violent felony that on its own carries a mandatory minimum of 3.5 years in state prison, per the Law Offices of Andrew M. Stengel…