The two Queens deli workers arrested for beating a man inside the store over the weekend launched into the attack during an argument over a food order, prosecutors alleged Monday — as they revealed the customer was left on life support after suffering a post-assault seizure.
Jorge Hernandez, 23, and Saber Abuhamra, 34, were ordered held on $30,000 bail after being hit with assault and strangulation charges for roughing up 31-year-old James Keena at the Pickles & Pies Food Market & Deli in Rockaway Park early Sunday.
In a Monday press release, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said the two men came out from behind the counter after Keena “complained about his food.”
Hernandez allegedly punched Keena, which sent him hurtling face-first into the countertop, then held him down by the neck as Abuhamra kicked and punched him in the face and body, according to the criminal complaint.
Keena blacked out after several minutes and started to seize and shake, the complaint said.
Cops brought Keena to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where medical personnel put the bruised, beaten man on a ventilator because he could not breathe on his own, the complaint said.
“This is yet another instance where a seemingly minor dispute escalated into serious physical violence,” Katz said. “We will hold these defendants accountable.”
Both men were charged with second-degree assault, third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation, according to the district attorney.
Hernandez and Abuhamra were arraigned Monday in Queens Criminal Court.
Judge Maria Gonzalez set bail at $30,000 and ordered them back in court June 16.
Neither man had posted bail as of later Monday.
If convicted, they each face up to seven years in prison. Hernandez’s attorney did not comment. Abuhamra’s did not return messages.
Keena, meanwhile, remained in critical-but-stable condition Monday, according to police.
An eyewitness previously told The Post that Keena had come into the deli drunk at about 5 a.m. and began “cursing everybody out.”
“Nobody said anything to him, he just came in cursing, like you do when you’re drunk,” the witness said Sunday. “He was real drunk.
“One of the [employees] came over and started pushing him, trying to push him outside,” he continued. “That’s when the fight started. Another one rushed over and got him in the chokehold. He was trying to pull him down. He pulled him down to the ground. Then he just stopped breathing.”
None of the workers at Pickles & Pies would talk to reporter on Monday afternoon.
But a patron — who did not want to be identified — said many people come to the deli at about 4 or 5 a.m. to get a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich after the local bars close.
The neighborhood can be dicey around that time, the man said.
“You got some mental hospitals nearby, some homeless shelters nearby, it can get rough,” he told The Post. “When the bars shut down, these guys are the only ones open and they’re dealing with crazy s–t.”
“You gotta’ really watch yourself, watch your back,” he continued. “And that’s why this place is great – the guys here are such solid guys.”
The man also said that Keena has “some serious problems” and has been estranged from his family for a long time.
The manager of a store across the street – which is owned by the same man who owns Pickles & Pies – described Keena to The Post Sunday as a “Spanish guy who comes in drunk.”
“He came in after lots of drinking and he make problem,” the manager said.
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
