Rockaway Deli Workers Strangled Customer Who Complained About Food: DA

QUEENS, NY — A pair of Far Rockaway deli workers choked and viciously beat a customer who complained about his food and left him clinging to life, prosecutors said.

Saber Abuhamra, 34, and Jorge Hernandez, 23, were arraigned Monday on strangulation and assault charges, said Melinda Katz, Queens' District Attorney.

“This is yet another instance where a seemingly minor dispute escalated into serious physical violence," Katz said in a statement.

The "minor dispute" unfolded Sunday inside Pickles and Pies Food Market and Deli, a deli along Beach 116th Street just a stone's throw from the water, authorities said.

A customer — identified by prosecutors as James Keena, 31 — was inside the deli about 5 a.m. and had complained about his food, which prompted Hernandez to punch and push him, authorities said.

The blows caused Keena to hit his head on the counter, prosecutors said.

Hernandez then put his arm around Keena's neck and kept him on the floor while Abuhamra punched and kicked him in the head and stomach for several minutes, even after he lost consciousness, authorities said. The beating stopped when Keena began seizing and shaking, prosecutors said.

Medics took Keena to the hospital in critical condition, where he was placed on life support because he couldn't breathe on his own, authorities said.

Abuhamra and Hernandez are both scheduled to return to court June 16. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.