A 59-year-old man was beaten to death inside a Brooklyn deli around the corner from his home during a fight with two store employees, police said Tuesday.
Gerry Hill was bashed in the head until he lost consciousness inside Royal Deli & Grill on Knickerbocker Ave. near Wilson Ave. in Bushwick about 7:05 p.m. Monday, cops said.
Police sources said Hill was a neighborhood panhandler and is believed to have been the aggressor in the fight with the deli workers.
Medics rushed Hill to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died. The deli is around the corner from Hill’s apartment building.
Hill was beaten in the head with an unspecified object, police said.
On July 25, cops arrested Hill on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges after he was accused of punching a 44-year-old man in the face during an argument inside Leo’s Mexican Restaurant on Knickerbocker Ave. — just down the block from the deli where Hill was killed.
His victim wasn’t seriously hurt, cops said.
Hill was released without bail after his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court the next day. He was due back in court Oct. 14.
