What to Know
- The landlord went to the North Corona home over a rent dispute, and was met at the front door by the tenant
- The two had a tussle and the 71-year-old was seen on camera getting pushed down the stairs, police said
- The landlord died at the hospital, and the 22-year-old tenant has been charged with manslaughter
A Queens landlord was shoved by a tenant down the front steps of a home to his death in an incident caught on camera, police said.
Edgar Moncayo went to the home he owned in North Corona Sunday afternoon after having issues collecting rent from the tenant, according to his realtor. Surveillance video shows him go up the half dozen front steps and approach the door, with the tenant answering.
Soon after, Moncayo is seen trying to get inside and a tussle ensues. The 71-year-old tells his wife on the phone to call the police.
“[The wife] said last thing she heard was ‘Let go, call the police!’” said Eduardo Ramirez, who was showing Moncayo’s wife houses when she was on the phone with her husband.
Police say that’s when the tenant, Alex Garces, pushed the landlord down the stairs to the concrete sidewalk below. Afterward, Garces is seen calmly walking out and down the steps, passing Moncayo who is still on his back, motionless.
“After that she didn’t hear anything else, she was concerned, calling a bunch of times,” Ramirez said. “Then she said … a neighbor picked up the phone and said, 'Your husband is on the floor, he’s not ok.'”
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Another man who left with the tenant can be seen stopping to check on Moncayo, and looked visibly upset after bending over to look at him.
The husband and grandfather was later pronounced dead at the hospital, police said, shocking his neighbors. Queens DA Melinda Katz said that the victim's head hit the pavement so hard he suffered a traumatic brain injury in a "horrible incident."
“I’ve known him for a long time, been in business in this area for many years, and he’s always come in to give me apartments, and looking for property for him his family. It’s devastating,” said Gladys Ramirez.
The 22-year-old Garces, of East Elmhurst, was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter as well as second-degree assault. He was arraigned on Tuesday, and his next court date is Friday. If convicted, Garces faces up to 25 years in prison.
