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Bronx Teen Allegedly Stabbed To Death Over $10
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 24, 2011
Modified Apr 24, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 24, 2011
Modified Apr 24, 2011
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A 17-year-old was stabbed to death early Saturday morning in the Bronx when he tried to get a $10 refund after he was kicked out of a house party. Police found Damien Martinez with a stab wound to the chest on Bathgate Avenue in Tremont; he was pronounced dead at the hospital. "They killed my brother over $10. My brother didn't deserve to die over $10," said sister Starleena Vargas.
Vargas said she, Martinez, and other partygoers were kicked out of a party at the Bathgate Avenue party which had gotten out of hand. But Martinez wanted his $10 cover fee back. Things escalated quickly: "They threw him on the floor and started kicking him. When he tried to protect himself by curling up, they hit him in the head with a metal bat." She says the group, who are gang members, threw him down the stairs. "They took out a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the neck. His friends ran away because the guys who did it are in a gang."
Earlier this month, police say that a Harlem man killed his grandmother over $1, and hid her body in a bedroom closet. Police haven't confirmed the details of Martinez's killing, or apprehended any suspects, yet. Family and friends gathered yesterday to mourn Martinez, whose nickname was "Cheese" because of his frequent smile. "He was very loved. We are all devastated," his sister Amanda Martinez said of him.
Vargas said people weren't talking to police because they were afraid of retribution from the gang members: "I'm an eyewitness. I saw everything," she said. Martinez's cousin Aixa Soltren echoed her sentiments, asking for any other witnesses to come forward: "We just want whoever knows something to come forward. Anybody who was there at the party should come forward." Martinez, was working toward getting his GED and planned to join the Army, leaves behind a pregnant girlfriend.
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Tremont
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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