The residents of the Boerum Hill neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, are mourning the tragic death of 83-year-old Ramon Cintron, a community resident. Cintron was brutally stabbed on April 9, just after winning the lottery.
Authorities have identified 26-year-old Joevani Vale as the suspect in the murder. Vale has a history of violence, with a previous arrest in 2020 for slashing a stranger in Brooklyn. He is also accused of assaulting and slashing two women on the same day as Cintron’s murder in a crime spree. The community is left questioning how someone with Vale’s violent past was allowed to be free.
Cintron was a beloved figure in the neighborhood, known for his warm personality and generosity. He worked at a local pharmacy until his 70s and frequently played the lottery at Papa Firo Grocery. The store’s manager, Victor Santiago, described Cintron as a grandfather figure to the community.
Police identified Vale from surveillance footage in the area and found that he and Cintron lived in the same building. Authorities suspect that robbery was the motive for the murder, as Cintron’s wallet was missing from the crime scene.
Vale has been arrested three times before for offenses such as assault, weapon possession, and menacing. He has also faced charges for public lewdness and forcible touching.
After the attack, Vale turned himself in at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn for a psychiatric evaluation on Monday. A relative informed the hospital staff that Vale was the suspect in both attacks. However, during his stay, Vale allegedly assaulted a police officer while he was escorted to the bathroom on Wednesday night. It remains unclear what triggered the attack, but sources suggest Vale may have been under the influence of drugs during his arrest.
Surveillance footage captured Vale entering Cintron’s building, disappearing for several minutes, and then returning to the lobby wearing different clothes. The footage also shows Vale entering the elevator with Cintron, where he can be seen stabbing and kicking his elderly neighbor in the neck before fleeing the scene.
It was unclear how much money Cintron won in the lottery, and how much money his attacker got away with at the expense of the elderly man’s life.