HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) — 1/3/25 – A community is mourning the
loss of a 36-year-old postal worker who was stabbed and killed during a
dispute in a Harlem deli on Thursday.

A transgender woman with a history of violence is accused of fatally
stabbing a postal worker in New York City on Thursday after being
cut in line for lunch.

Police say Jaia Cruz had been arrested at least five times before she
allegedly gutted Ray Hodges, 36, with a knife after he cut her in line
at a Harlem deli, the New York Post reported.

Cruz, 24, threatened to slash someone with a box cutter in July 2020
and then resisted when officers came to arrest her, the Post reported.
Two weeks later, Cruz and an accomplice were arrested for allegedly
using knives to steal a man’s phone and wallet.

Deli workers told ABC News 7 the dispute arose over a sandwich and
who had ordered first. One worker said he tried to intervene but was
unable to stop the violence.

Cruz has been charged with second-degree murder, media reported.