Thug Who Assaulted Ray’s Candy Store Owner Heading to the Big House for 10 Years
The community had rallied around 90-year-old candy story owner Ray Alvarez when he was assaulted in late January ‘23 by two men outside the shop he had run in the East Village for 50 years. Now one of the thugs who assaulted him is headed to prison, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Ave. A /
| 08 Feb 2024 | 01:22
Ray Alvarez was back on the job at Ray’s Candy Store on Avenue A in the East Village only days after he was assaulted by two thugs back in Jan. 2023. Photo: Keith J. Kelly
Neighborhood residents turned out to support Alvarez and many contributed to a Go Fund Me campaign. PHoto: Keith J. Kelly
Firefighters from a nearby station house stopped by Ray’s Candy Store for morning coffee as a show of support following the Jan. ‘23 assault by two thugs. Photo: Keith J. Kelly
It’s a ten-year prison sentence for one of the two thugs who assaulted the long-time owner of Ray’s Candy Story in the East Village in January, 2023.
In addition to assaulting Ray Alvarez, who recently turned 90, Luis Peroza had assaulted two others when he and another individual, Gerald Barth, 55, went on a rampage in the East Village on the night of Jan. 31, 2023.
Now, Peroza is heading to prison after pleading guilty to three counts of assault. prosecutors said.
“Luis Peroza has been held accountable for viciously assaulting three people in just one day,” said DA Alvin Bragg. “Among those attacked was the beloved owner of Ray’s Candy Store, who despite the attack has shown great courage and resilience by returning to work and continuing to spread joy–as he has for decades.”
At around 3 a.m. on the Jan. 31, Peroza, 40, and Barth approached Alvarez who was standing outside his candy store and asked if he wanted to buy canned drinks from them. Alvarez declined and Peroza struck him in the head with a hard object, prosecutors said Perozo acknowledged in a guilty plea, breaking his jaw, fracturing facial bones and giving the victim a black eye.
A half hour later, Peroza struck again, demanding money from a 33-year-old man as he was leaving a deli on Ave. C. Peroza struck that victim in the face with a hard object as well, breaking the victim’s orbital bone and causing severe lacerations to the man’s face.
Several hours later, Peroza struck again, approaching a 51-year-old man on Avenue B, hitting him with a hard object that lacerated his face and head, fractured facial bones and knocked out a tooth. Peroza plead guilty and confessed to the crime spree, according to the DA’s office.
His accomplice Gerald Barth, who had been arrested at the same time as Peroza shortly after the spree in early 2023, was judged unfit to stand trial on June 14, 2023.
“After being found unfit, Barth was transferred from Department of Corrections to Office of Mental Health custody,” said a DA spokesperson. “His case will move forward if/when he is found fit,” the spokesperson said.
There had already been an outpouring of love for Alvarez even before the attack in Jan. 2023 because a year earlier, a hefty and long overdue rent bill left over from the COVID shut downs, put him in danger of losing the candy store that had stood on Ave. A. near 7th St. since 1974.
The campaign set up by Asghar Ghahraman is still active and has raised $67,889 toward a $90,000 goal.
His 90th birthday on Jan. 3 drew coverage from Fox 5 and he had earlier been featured on NBC News 4 and ABC 7.
When Fox 5’s Sharon Crowley asked him what his secret was for his long life, Alvarez replied, “Eat a lot of candy.”
”Eat a lot of candy.” Ray Alvarez, 90-year-old owner of Ray’s Candy Store when asked about his secret for a long life.