Police have arrested the man who allegedly sucker-punched a man outside a Brooklyn deli in a brutal robbery, taking the victim's wallet — and ultimately his life.
Philip Meyers didn't answer any questions as he was hauled away from the stationhouse Monday night. The 45-year-old Meyers was charged with murder and robbery for the March 29 attack outside a deli in Dyker Heights that claimed the life of victim John Sarquiz.
The violent mugging occurred right outside a corner deli on 13th Avenue, according to police. Sarquiz was standing outside when a man came up from behind and punched him, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head.
The attacker continued to hit Sarquiz before robbing him, then took off. Left to die, Sarquiz was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, where he was on life support for days.
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"Never even had a moment to defend himself or get away in any way," Sarquiz's sister, Christina, previously told NBC New York. "Once he hit the ground, he was just beaten, kicked in the head senselessly until he was unconscious."
Christina raced to the hospital to find her brother in a coma. On April 3, his family made the difficult decision to take him off the machine, and let him go.
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"When I got there he was unconscious, intubated, bleeding from the brain and I was told by the ER doctor that he would never return to the baseline cognition of the man we knew before that night," Christina said, adding that she's barely slept since the attack on her brother. "We’ve been all shocked and completely devastated at a loss for words and mostly just, tears."
The 55-year-old victim with a big heart was well-known in the neighborhood, and was a native of Sunset Park. He worked as a computer analyst at Barnes & Noble for years, and in 2014, decided to leave the company to care for his aging mother after his father died.
His entire family is now at a loss.
"He’s a good guy. I’ve known him for maybe 27 years and he would give the shirt off his back to anyone," said brother-in-law David Goldstein.
At the scene where he was attacked, Sarquiz's friends — affectionately known in the neighborhood as "The Misfits" — set up a memorial.
A fugitive team tracked Meyers down on Monday. Attorney information for the Brooklyn resident was not immediately available. Police said Meyers is a career criminal with dozens of prior convictions.
