Jackson Heights Man Indicted for Fatal Food Truck Stabbing

By Jonathan Sperling

A man suspected of stabbing to death another man as the two waited on line in front of a halal food cart in Jackson Heights was indicted on murder charges, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced on Monday.

John Daves, 33, was waiting in front of a halal food cart located at 80th Street and Roosevelt Avenue when he got into an argument with Miguel Angel Becerra-Perez, 25, on the morning of Sept. 25, 2018. Daves allegedly chased Becerra-Perez down the street and stabbed him in the right arm and chest with a knife that Daves had grabbed from the food cart.

The incident was partially captured on surveillance video, according to Brown.

“A verbal dispute turned lethal after two men encountered one another at a food truck in Jackson Heights. The defendant grabbed the knife from the food cart and literally chased down the victim and allegedly stabbed him to death,” Brown said. “This was a senseless act of violence and the defendant now faces a very long term of incarceration.”

Daves, who is homeless, was arraigned before Justice Kenneth C. Holder on an indictment charging him with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Holder remanded Daves and ordered him to return to court on May 21, 2019. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.