Jaya Cruz charged in NYC murder of USPS mail carrier Ray Hodge III
A 24-year-old transgender New York man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of a U.S. mail carrier on his lunch break earlier this month, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Jaya Cruz, the 6-foot-4-inch suspect known as Alvin, allegedly started an argument with 36-year-old mail carrier Ray Hodge III on Jan. 2 while they were standing in line to order a lunch sandwich.
Cruz pulled out a knife and stabbed Hodge repeatedly in front of horrified customers, mail carriers and employees at the restaurant on Manhattan’s Lenox Avenue between West 118th and West 119th streets.
The Mailman family has broken their silence after a father-of-2 was murdered on his lunch break.
USPS mail carrier Ray Hodge III delivers a letter in this undated family photo provided by his brother, Ed Rice. (Provided by Ed Rice)
Hodge suffered knife wounds to the chest, neck and arm, authorities said.
Cruz went home after the attack and was later arrested.
The suspect accused of fatally stabbing a postal worker in New Delhi has a history of knife attacks.
Jaya Cruz, a 24-year-old woman, was arrested by the NYPD and transported from the 28th Precinct after she allegedly stabbed a postal worker to death while she was working in Harlem. (Kyle Mazza/CIP/IMAGN)
Hodge was pronounced dead at a Harlem hospital. He was a father of two whose colleagues at USPS remembered him on social media as a “great, kind soul.”
His brother Ed Rice previously told Fox News Digital: “We are devastated and saddened by my brother’s death. “He was a wonderful man and touched so many people in a positive way. We are grieving and dealing with my brother.”
Cruz has a criminal record that includes prior knife attacks, including aggravated assault.
NYPD makes arrest in fatal stabbing of on-duty postal worker.
The NYPD charged Jaya Cruz in the fatal shooting of a USPS worker at a Harlem deli. (Peter Gerber)
As the New York case moves forward, the US Postal Service, the Postal Service The law enforcement armAnyone with additional information on the case is asked to call detectives at 1-877-876-2455.
“This stabbing in broad daylight shook the neighborhood, including the deli workers and customers who witnessed the attack,” Bragg said. “My thoughts are with those grieving the loss of postal worker and father of two Ray Hodge.”
The NYPD charged Jaya Cruz in the fatal shooting of a USPS worker in a Harlem deli. (Peter Gerber)
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The family created a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses.
“Ray touched the lives of the people he spoke to,” the fundraiser read. “Ray was a hardworking, honorable and good man whose life reflected his values and desire to help others. Ray touched the lives of many, and we are all truly blessed to have known and loved him.”