NYC man accused of fatally stabbing deli worker over cigarette arrested after 7 months on the lam
A Staten Island man accused of fatally stabbing a deli worker for refusing to sell him a loose cigarette at a discount has been arrested after seven months on the lam, cops said.
Christian Diaz, 25, was nabbed Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder in the senseless Oct. 19 slaying of Ahmed Almulaiki in East Harlem, according to a criminal complaint.
The unhinged customer got into a fight with deli workers because he was short 50 cents for the “loosie” and they wouldn’t give him store credit, police said.
He allegedly flew into a rage, stabbing Almulaiki twice with a knife — before taking off for Pennsylvania and then Florida, according to prosecutors.
The suspect then returned to Staten Island, where cops caught up with him after three of his high school buddies called in tips about him, the NYPD said.
Leading up to the stabbing, Diaz had “placed his hand on his waistband” saying “I could kill you” to workers inside the K&B Gourmet on Second Avenue near East 102nd Street at around 11:35 p.m., the complaint alleges.
The incident was caught on surveillance video showing Diaz pulling out a knife and thrusting it at the victim and another deli staffer, as they followed him holding a bat and a golf club, according to the court doc.
“The video then shows the defendant stab Mr. Almulaiki in his arm and torso,” the complaint states.
The suspect allegedly “fled the scene of the crime and fled to Pennsylvania and later to Florida and was only located seven months later,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Meral Kerim said Diaz’s arraignment Wednesday.
The prosecutor requested for Diaz to be held without bail – which Judge Nestor Diaz granted.
Diaz’s lawyer Jessica Horani asked for bail and for electronic monitoring, referencing the criminal complaint’s mention that the two deli workers – including Almulaiki – had come out with a bat and a golf club before her client allegedly pulled out the knife.
Horani said she wasn’t “admitting or affirming anything that my client may or may not have done.”
But, “from their own charges, they have two individuals who are armed with what could be considered deadly weapons,” Horani said, “and that is very significant for the court to take into consideration as well.”
Outside Manhattan Criminal Court after the hearing, someone who identified himself only as Almulaiki’s cousin said, “All we want is justice.”
“We called the police over and over. It took them a long time to come in,” the man said.
“The guy was banging on the door, he was breaking the glass, he was making problems,” he added, referring to the suspect.
“[Almulaiki] went outside, he didn’t know what to expect. Of course, they armed themselves,” the cousin added.
Cops were able to track Diaz down after three friends from the Queens vocational high school he attended called in tips about him, NYPD Detective John Russo said.
One of the friends said that Diaz had “asked for help getting out of town,” and turned over a photo of the Diaz, who had facial hair at the time of the incident, with a clean-shaven face – “clearly in an attempt to elude police,” Russo said.
Cops were also able to identify the man in surveillance video of the stabbing incident as Diaz after he had been caught on a body worn camera of a police officer during a traffic stop for allegedly going 70mph in a 40mph zone,” Russo ai.
“This is a guy, hardworking guy, working in a bodega trying to make a living for himself and his family, and just trying to protect the business,” Russo said. “He doesn’t even have an ownership stake and goes outside to prevent the glass from being broken and gets stabbed up.”
Diaz – who is due back in court on May 23 – faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
