Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the indictment of JAIA CRUZ, 24, for fatally stabbing 36-year-old Ray Hodge, a USPS mail carrier, in a Harlem deli on January 2, 2025. CRUZ is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Murder in the Second Degree. [1]
“This alleged broad-daylight stabbing shook the neighborhood, including the deli workers and customers who witnessed the attack,” said District Attorney Bragg. “My thoughts are with those grieving the loss of Ray Hodge, a postal worker and beloved father of two.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, shortly before 2:30 p.m. in a deli located on Lenox Avenue between West 118th and West 119th Streets, CRUZ argued with the victim before taking out a knife. CRUZ stabbed him multiple times in his chest, as well as his neck and arm, before leaving and returning to her apartment building. The victim was transported to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Assistant D.A. Elizabeth Clerkin is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Erin Tierney (Chief of Trial Bureau 30) and Executive Assistant D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division).