A Forest Hills man was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison after pleading guilty last month to attempted murder for the brutal beating of a 62-year-old bodega worker in Woodside in June 2024.
Photo by Dean Moses
A Forest Hills man was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison for the brutal beating of an elderly bodega worker on Broadway in Woodside in June 2024.
Osvel Diaz, 31, of 62nd Drive, pleaded guilty last month to attempted murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the first degree and other related crimes for the vicious and relentless beating of the elderly store employee inside the Sunnyside Mini Market at 63-20 Broadway.
According to the charges and investigation, at 11:17 p.m. on June 17, 2024, Diaz entered the Sunnyside Mini Market at 63-20 Broadway in Woodside and bumped into deli worker Abdul Alshawish, who was standing in front of the counter. Seconds later, Diaz flew into a rage and began punching Alshawish repeatedly in the head. Diaz threw Alshawish to the floor and continued to punch and kick him in the head, face and body. While Alshawish was still on the floor, Diaz kicked him in the head and knocked Alshawish unconscious. During the beatdown, one man could be seen fleeing the store while a second bystander tried to intervene and retreated. Diaz briefly walked out of the store only to return moments later to deliver several more kicks to the victim’s head, face and body.
As Diaz was perp-walked out of the 108th Precinct in Long Island City, he was seen with many tattoos, including one with “Killer” written on his arm. Photo by Dean Moses
The assault was caught on video surveillance that showed the back of Alshawish’s head smashing into a metal counter with each sickening blow. Police from the 108th Precinct responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress and arrived on the scene after Diaz fled the location. Officers found Alshawish unconscious and unresponsive. EMS rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition and treated for a brain hemorrhage, facial fractures, a mid-face separation, broken teeth and a fractured eye socket, nose and sinuses. He later underwent multiple surgeries and was diagnosed with a moderate traumatic brain injury and cognitive impairments.
Detectives and the NYPD Warrants Squad tracked down Diaz at his home on 62nd Drive on June 26, 2024, but he did not go quietly. He was taken into custody following a brief standoff with a three-week-old baby inside the house, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation. The infant was not injured during the takedown.
“A 62-year-old man, who was simply working in a Woodside bodega, was relentlessly pummeled by this defendant in an unprovoked attack,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Osvel Diaz nearly killed Abdul Ashlawish and left the employee with lifelong injuries.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice John Zoll sentenced Diaz on July 16 to 19 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
“I thank my prosecutors for securing this lengthy sentence against the defendant and wish Mr. Alshawish the very best as he continues to recover from this senseless assault,” Katz said.