Two Manhattan men have been arrested for brutally beating and attempting to rob the 90-year-old owner of Ray’s Candy Store in the East Village.
Luis Peroza, 39, and Gerald Barth, 55, were arrested Friday in the horrific assault that left Ray Alvarez with a black eye and eating through a straw, the New York Post reports.
Police said Peroza had been charged with assault and noted that he was also charged with multiple robberies in February, including Alvarez’s A Avenue store.
Law enforcement sources told the Post that Barth was also arrested for other robberies in the East Village.
Police arrested Luis Peroza, 39, (left) and Gerald Barth, 55, (right) in connection with the brutal attack and attempted robbery at the famed Ray’s candy store in the East Village
Shopkeeper Ray Alvarez, 90, was allegedly attacked by Peroza with a weapon described as a “belt with a heavy rock on the end,” leaving the older man with a black eye (above).
The attack on Alvarez happened outside the 24-hour candy store early Tuesday morning when a man wearing a balaclava entered the store and threatened to kill the 90-year-old.
The man left but came back with “a belt with a heavy rock on the end,” according to investigators.
A hit with the makeshift weapon reportedly left Alvarez, who worked the night shift at the legendary A Avenue store, bleeding on the ground as the suspect fled down the street.
Another of Ray’s associates who had been working with Alvarez overnight was also shot in the chest in the attack. The couple did not require hospitalization and only called the police the next day.
Police claimed that the man who attacked Alvarez was Peroza, who was caught by security cameras fleeing the scene.
NYPD officials said Peroza has 10 prior arrests dating back to 2001 and he was arrested Friday following multiple robberies in the area.
In addition to robbery, Peroza has previously been arrested for assault, criminal mischief and petty theft.
Police sources told the Post that Barth had also previously been in trouble with the law and was suspected of carrying out other robberies.
Hours after the Ray’s candy store robbery, Barth allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old on B Avenue and stole the victim’s cell phone after they refused him a cigarette.
The suspect caught on camera fleeing the scene of the crime – now identified by police as Peroza. Officials said he was also arrested Friday for a series of robberies in the area
Alvarez, who had worked the night shift at the legendary store he owns since 1974, was left bleeding on the ground while the suspect fled down the street
Alvarez spent $30,000 to build his legendary 24-hour establishment in the ’70s
Alvarez, who was born Asghar Ghahraman, immigrated to the United States from the Middle East in the early 1970s, just a few years before residents of his native country toppled the ruling Pahlavi government during the Iranian revolution.
Alvarez initially worked as a waiter in Manhattan, raising enough money to buy the business he dreamed of running in 1974, when New York was grappling with a series of financial crises that nearly culminated in the city’s bankruptcy.
Alvarez paid $30,000 for the premises and opened his shop later that year. For almost half a century he has continued in his business, sometimes even in the back.
During that span of time, the A Avenue store — which nearly faced foreclosure during the pandemic — has served customers from Madonna to Kim Kardashian, while serving as a callback to an earlier time when soda shops were particularly plentiful in New York.
The A Avenue store — which nearly faced foreclosure during the pandemic — serves as a callback to a time when such soda shops were common on the streets of New York
Alvarez, who was born Asghar Ghahraman, immigrated to the United States from the Middle East in the early 1970s, just a few years before the Iranian Revolution
The business, like many others in the Big Apple, nearly went under during the pandemic and has reportedly struggled to keep up with food and electricity costs.
However, Alvarez refused to raise his prices – which have barely changed in 49 years – citing that he would never do so to his loyal customers.
The New Yorkers would then join forces to organize a fundraiser for the senior ahead of his 90th birthday last month, rather than having to force him into retirement.
“We want to help Ray stay in business for as long as he wants, until he decides to hang up his apron on his terms,” reads a description of the fundraiser, titled “Ray’s 90th B-Day Celebration.”
It has since raised more than $58,000 — more than half of its $90,000 goal.