Two Queens deli workers have been indicted for a June attack on a drunken customer who complained about his food order.
Saber Abuhamra, 34, and Jorge Hernandez, 23, both of Queens, were indicted Friday for the choking of James Keena at Pickles & Pies Food Market & Deli in Rockaway Park June 11.
“A grand jury has weighed in and these defendants stand accused of a brutal attack and will be held to account,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement Friday.
According to a criminal complaint, Keena showed up at the deli around 5 a.m. and “drunkenly” complained about his food — prompting Hernandez, who works at the deli with Abuhamra, to come around the counter and punch Keena.
The blow sent Keena stumbling face-first into a countertop, where Hernandez then held him down by the neck while Abuhamra punched him several more times, the complaint alleges.
Keena eventually passed out and suffered a seizure, the complaint revealed.
He was taken to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where he was placed on life support, according to the DA’s Office.
A witness told the New York Post that Keena had come into the shop “cursing everybody out” though “nobody said anything to him.”
Queens deli workers Saber Abuhamra and Jorge Hernandez were indicted for allegedly choking customer James Keena at Pickles & Pies Food Market & Deli in Rockaway Park in June. Gregory P. Mango“He just came in cursing, like you do when you’re drunk,” the witness told The Post. “He was real drunk.”
Another employee had allegedly tried to “push” Keena outside, and “that’s when the fight started,” the witness recounted.
“Another one rushed over and got him in the chokehold. He was trying to pull him down. He pulled him down to the ground. Then he just stopped breathing,” the witness said at the time.
The employees allegedly assaulted Keena after he entered the store “drunkenly” and complained about a food order around 5 a.m. June 11, 2023. Gregory P. MangoKatz last month called the confrontation “another instance where a seemingly minor dispute escalated into serious physical violence,” vowing to “hold these defendants accountable.”
Abuhamra and Hernandez were both arrested and held on $30,000 bail.
They’re expected back in court Aug. 3.
If convicted, both men face up to 15 years in prison.
Lawyer Michael Horn, in a statement Friday, said Abuhamra “did not pick this fight.”
“He was just a hard working deli employee in a dangerous neighborhood when a much bigger and obviously drunk man walked into the deli and started making threats and wreaking havoc,” Horn said.
There was no immediate response to The Post’s request for comment from lawyers for Hernandez.
