Wilson Chabla Lliguicota, a 28-year-old stabbed, punched, and kicked in Queens (NYC) in an alleged fight over a parking spot on Friday, remains critically hospitalized after undergoing multiple surgeries, his neighbors said yesterday.
Chabla argued with his attackers near his home on 48th Street near 47th Avenue in the Sunnyside neighborhood around 3:50 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Two suspected attackers were detained and identified as Arturo Cuevas (30) and Daisy Barrera (27). According to Sunnyside Post, they are boyfriend and girlfriend and were living together. They were first charged with assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon. The charges were later upgraded to attempted murder and ordered to be arrested on Rikers Island without bail.
The violent assault was captured on video. Caution is advised when watching the bloody footage. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called the attack “brutal.” “This shocking display of brutality will be met with justice (…) Given the viciousness of the attack, we ask the court to remand the defendants into custody before trial.”
Barrera allegedly hit Chabla with a baseball bat until he fell. Cuevas then stomped on him repeatedly. He was also stabbed five times. A second victim, who told authorities he witnessed the attack, was allegedly hit with the bat by Barrera, according to the Queens Chronicle.
Paramedics took the injured man to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was treated for severe brain trauma and multiple cuts. Authorities said he continues to fight for his life while on a ventilator.
Barrera and Cuevas had an ongoing parking dispute with Chabla. They launched their attack when they spotted him on the street, leaving him in critical condition on bloodstains on the asphalt in broad daylight and in full view of some witnesses.
After his arrest, Cuevas confessed to the police and told them: “It was me,” according to the criminal complaint against him. Barrera had no prior arrests. Cuevas had previously been charged with assault and harassment for allegedly pulling a 27-year-old man out of his car and punching him repeatedly in the face with metal fists on April 4, 2022, an NYPD spokesman said.
“Those are bad people, very bad people,” a neighbor who did not want to be identified said of the assailants.
All the charges are mere accusations, and the people on trial are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
In a similar case, Jason Freeman (36) died violently late last year after being struck several times by a driver who fled the scene following a fight over a parking spot in New Jersey.
In late November, a man was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after he stabbed two people and ran over five pedestrians, killing a friend of his, during an argument over a parking spot in Queens (NYC).
In July, a Hispanic man was killed while working parking lot duty in Brooklyn (NYC) for “Law & Order,” a legendary crime TV series.
Previously, in March 2022, a 43-year-old man was fatally shot in his building after an apparent dispute over a parking spot in Brooklyn. In December 2021, in the same county, a 63-year-old man was found unconscious with head trauma, and police suspect he was fatally struck in a dispute over a double-parked car.