Police: Argument in deli leaves 1 dead, bodega owner’s son arrested

An aspiring artist is dead, and a bodega owner’s son was arrested after an argument inside a deli turned violent.

News 12 Staff

Oct 25, 2019, 9:41 AM

Updated 1,809 days ago

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An aspiring artist is dead, and a bodega owner's son was arrested after an argument inside a deli turned violent.
 Candles are lit outside the bodega on Longwood Avenue where 37-year-old Frankie Williams was stabbed to death.
Police say 26-year-old Ronny Torres, the son of the bodega owner, is responsible. He was walked out of the 41st Precinct Thursday night in handcuffs and is now charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
News 12 is told it happened when Torres and Williams got into an argument. Detectives say they are investigating what the dispute was exactly about. Reports say it was over stealing a beer. When officials arrived at the scene around 1 p.m., they found the victim with multiple stab wounds to his stomach. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. 
Williams' wife rushed to the scene, telling News 12 her husband has two children and was born in Honduras, but called the Bronx his home.
The image of Frankie Williams' last moments alive are etched into the mind of Leroy Castillo — who was at Bill Rainey Park With Williams just moments before he was killed Thursday afternoon. On Friday, Castillo was among the dozens who paid their respects at the memorial that now sits at that same spot.
"He was drinking with me, the last shot of alcohol was with me over there sitting, and then he was saying, 'I'm gonna go to the over there to the store to get another beer,'" said Castillo.
His friends told News 12 that Williams was an artist who performed his songs regularly at local venues.
Dozens of family and friends of Williams paid their respects, leaving candles near the bodega Thursday night.
Torres appeared before a judge Friday where he was denied bail and remanded into police custody. He will make his next court appearance on Oct. 30.