QUEENS, NY – On Friday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Saber Abuhamra and Jorge Hernandez were each indicted and arraigned on a charge of strangulation in the first degree and other crimes.
The charges stem from an alleged attack on a customer at a Rockaway Park deli over a food order dispute.
Both Abuhamra, 34, of Rockaway Park, and Hernandez, 23, of Far Rockaway, were arraigned on a four-count indictment which includes charges of first and second-degree strangulation, as well as second and third-degree assault. They are due to return to court on August 3 and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the first-degree strangulation charge.
According to the charges, on June 11, between 4:50 a.m. and 5:15 a.m., Hernandez, an employee at the Pickles and Pies Food Market and Deli, allegedly assaulted James Keena, 31, causing him to hit his head on a counter and lose consciousness. Abuhamra is accused of punching and kicking Keena during the assault.