A terrified Bronx bodega worker fleeing armed thugs who held up his store was shot dead by a cop responding to the scene — and the three alleged robbers have been charged with his murder.
Reynaldo Cuevas, 20, was shot once in the left shoulder after he barreled into a cop who had been called to the late-night scene, Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
It was the second tragedy to befall the family recently. Cuevas’s father was killed in the Dominican Republic, friends and family said.
“His father was killed in Santo Domingo two years ago by a robber over his gold chain,” said Arjelis Duvan, 30, a friend. “That’s why the family came back here — and now this happened.”
Orlando Ramos, 31, the alleged gunman, and accused accomplices Ernesto Delgado, 28, and Christopher Dorsey, 17, were today charged with second-degree murder and robbery in connection with Cuevas’ death.
The victim’s cousin, Jose Garcia, 27, said he watched the terrifying scene unfold standing across the street. (Seth Gottfried)
Friends at the scene react to the fatal shooting of Reynaldo Cuevas. (Seth Gottfried)
An officer responding to the armed robbery was injured after being struck by an SUV. (Seth Gottfried)
Police at the scene where a bodega worker was shot. (Seth Gottfried)
Cuevas was planning to enlist in the Marines, family said. His sister, Nicole, also serves in the military, according to her Facebook page.
The mayhem began around 2 a.m. as Cuevas and the night manager were inside the Aneurys Deli Grocery, formally the Nathalie Deli Grocery, on Franklin Avenue when three armed men got behind the store’s safety glass, Kelly said.
A customer noticed that a man behind the glass was not the normal employee — and then saw the store’s manager, being held at gunpoint on the floor, witnesses said.
The customer ran across the street and called 911.
The gunman, Orlando Ramos, 31, pistol-whipped the store’s manager, then kept the store’s employees on the floor with a .32-caliber handgun while his accomplices, Ernesto Delgado, 28, and Christopher Dorsey, 17, looted the place, grabbing Newport cigarettes, scratch-off tickets, and $718 from the register, Kelly said.
Four cops from PSA 7 and the 42nd Precinct arrived soon after and peered in the door to the deli.
Ramos saw the cops and yelled, “Policia, policia, policia!” before he and Delgado fled to the back of the bodega, leaving their unarmed accomplice, Dorsey, in the front.
The manager and Cuevas, seeing that they no longer have a gun trained on them, escaped their teen captor, who also decided to turn himself in.
As he ran out, a panicking Cuevas ran into a cop who had his gun out, Kelly said The man was shot dead.
Cops believe the gun accidentally discharged.
“The events … transpired in a matter of seconds and the collision between Mr. Cuevas and the officer in split seconds,” said Kelly. “The night manager was able to convey quickly that he had been held-up by gunpoint, but Mr. Cuevas and in an understandable effort to get away from the gunman as fast as possible ran straight into the officer.”
The other two thugs remained holed-up in the bodega basement until 5:30 am, when Delgado turned himself in, telling cops that he was actually a victim in the scheme.
ESU went in to arrest Ramos, and found him tied up with yellow rope — likely part of ruse to deceive cops, sources said.
The officer who fired his weapon — a seven-year veteran — was taken to Jacobi Hospital for observation.
The bodega’s owner, Cuevas’ uncle Jesus Cuevas, was not at the store at the time.
A police vehicle responding to the situation was struck by a SUV a few blocks away. The officer had serious — but not life-threatening — injuries.
All three suspects have criminal records, sources said.