Surveillance video released Wednesday shows the crazed clash that ended with a Queens liquor store owner facing charges for accidentally shooting the shoplifter he was pistol-whipping.
Shop owner Francisco Valerio, initially charged by cops with reckless endangerment, is now also facing charges of assault and weapon possession, authorities said Wednesday.
while pistol-whipping him robbery that left one of the suspects shot in the stomach and the owner charged with assault, and criminal possession of a weapon shows what took place in the few minutes between the time two young men walked into a liquor store and when one of them lay bleeding on the sidewalk outside.
Advocacy group United Bodegas of America released the footage Wednesday.
“We are threatened, robbed, assaulted and looted everyday and the bad guys get away with it”, said Radahmes Rodriguez, President of the organization. “They are freed without bail and nothing ever happens to them. When we fight back we are jailed and in some cases prosecuted. This must stop.”
Valerio, 53, was inside Franja Wines and Liquors on Wyckoff Ave. around 7:45 p.m. Monday when Kevin Pullutasi and Edwin Poaquiza, both 20, entered and began trying to steal bottles of Ciroc vodka, the video shows.
According to the Queens District Attorney’s office, Valerio and his brother Luis pushed the younger men out of the store and a heated exchange began, with one of the Valerios kicking Pullutasi, who then kicked and punched both of the Valerios and tried to slam the door on their hands.
Valerio, who has a concealed carry permit, pulled a 9-mm. handgun from his rear waistband and attempted to strike Pullutasi with the weapon but missed and the gun went off, said the Queens District Attorney’s office Wednesday.
Medics took Pullutasi to Elmhurst Hospital, where he underwent surgery for internal bleeding and bullet fragments were removed from his body, according to a criminal complaint.
Cops initially charged the two accused crooks with robbery, assault and menacing but Queens DA Melinda Katz said Wednesday the pair was being charged with petty larceny.
Poaquiza was separately arraigned Tuesday night and released without bail while Pullutasi’s charges are still pending while he is in the hospital, said Katz.
Fernando Mateo, spokesman for the United Bodegas of America, asked for Katz to drop the charges against Valerio. The group has advocated for other shopkeepers who have recently gotten in trouble with the law and made headlines.
In July 2022, Jose Alba was arrested and then cleared in a fatal stabbing that was later deemed to be self-defense, after Austin Simon, 35, confronted Alba over what he said was a lack of respect for his girlfriend’s child.
On May 7, Natesh Natesh, a store clerk at a Queens bodega stabbed 21-year-old Dylan Marino to death in a confrontation over a stolen beer, cops said. The 21-year-old bodega worker was taken into custody and released that evening without charges.
“When we stand our ground and fight back we become the criminal in our own businesses,” Mateo said Wednesday. “Jose Alba, Netesh Netesh and now Francisco Valerio are all victims not criminals. Kevin Pullutasi and Edwin Paiquiza have robbed Francisco’s liquor store numerous times according to an employee of the liquor store.”
