A 45-year-old man is facing up to 25 years in prison after he punched out and robbed his cousin, leaving him in the middle of a Queens street, where he was then struck and severely injured by a driver last year, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Jonathan Velez was slapped with charges of assault and reckless endangerment Wednesday for allegedly punching Manuel Rivera, his 39-year-old cousin, to the ground near Rockaway Blvd. in Ozone Park around 4:27 a.m on Aug. 2. The cousins had just left a birthday party in Manhattan, with Velez driving Rivera’s car, when they got into an argument.
The dispute turned physical when Velez struck Rivera to the pavement, knocking him unconscious. Velez then allegedly rifled through Rivera’s pockets and the vehicle before fleeing the scene, leaving his cousin lying unconscious in the middle of the street.
Rivera was then run over by the driver of a passing vehicle. EMS transported him to a local hospital, where he was said to be unresponsive and suffering from internal bleeding, a fractured skull and a loss of teeth.
Six months later, he is still recovering from his grievous injuries.
“As alleged, the defendant cruelly delivered a knockout punch to his own cousin and then brazenly rummaged through the unconscious man’s pockets and car before leaving him for dead in the middle of Rockaway Boulevard,” Katz said. “The 39-year-old victim was later hit by a passing car and remains hospitalized with a multitude of injuries. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family as he recovers from this brutal act.”
Velez, who lives in Brooklyn, was arrested Wednesday in Queens in Kew Gardens.
He was arraigned the same day in Queens Supreme Court, where Judge Toni Cimino ordered him held without bail.
