A ‘transgender’ suspect arrested for stabbing a postal worker to death at a New York City deli has a lengthy criminal history, including multiple arrests for crimes involving blades, according to reports.
The horrifying attack unfolded just after 2:30 p.m. on Thursday in Harlem.
Ray Hodges, 36, was on-duty as a USPS letter carrier when he popped in for lunch at a deli where he was well-known as a regular, the New York Post reports.
While preparing to order, another customer cut in front of him, sparking a dispute, witnesses say.
Multiple customers and employees tried to break up the altercation, which escalated when the suspect spat on Hodges, prompting him to throw a “bottle of lemon juice at her,” one worker said.
“That’s when she took the knife and came to him and I had to move.”
The suspect reportedly slashed Hodges repeatedly in the neck and stomach.
Hodges was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Jaia Cruz, 24, was taken into custody at the scene and charged with murder.
The "woman" accused of stabbing a postal worker to death over a spot in line at a Harlem deli has a long history of knife violence.
— Crime In NYC (@CrimeInNYC) January 3, 2025
Jaia Cruz was arrested at least five times before "she" allegedly carried out the ruthless killing Thursday, law enforcement sources told The Post.… pic.twitter.com/EnDKaVbEdB
Law enforcement sources told the Post Cruz is a “transgendered woman” who has been arrested at least five times in recent years.
During one incident in 2020, Cruz reportedly threatened a man with a box cutter while yelling, “I’m going to cut him.”
Two weeks later, Cruz was arrested for luring a man to “hang out” and robbing him at knife-point, along with an accomplice.
Hodges, a father of two, was reportedly appreciated by locals as a “really nice” guy who looked out for residents on his delivery route.
“The Postal Inspection Service can confirm that on January 2, 2025, a United States Postal Service letter carrier, assigned to Manhattan, was the victim of a homicide,” a USPS spokesperson told the Post.
An investigation is ongoing.
InfoWars has been documenting the surge of crime across the United States, including carjackings, ‘street takeovers,’ smash-and-grab loot mobs, home invasions, and physical attacks on innocent victims.
