Police in Brooklyn are searching for two suspects who allegedly beat a homeless man to death and injured another as they slept in a supermarket parking lot last month.
The NYPD released images Wednesday night of Francisco Corocoj, 25, and Manuel Perez, 49, both of whom are accused of the heinous attack in which both victims were bludgeoned with a baseball bat and metal pipes, authorities said.
Law enforcement sources said the assault occurred at around 7 p.m. on Sept. 18, when the two victims, ages 38 and 42, were sleeping in the ShopRite supermarket parking lot at 1080 McDonald Ave. in Borough Park.
Police said the suspects, identified as Corocoj and Perez, allegedly approached the victims and began striking them repeatedly with the baseball bat and pipes.
Both perpetrators fled by the time officers from the 66th Precinct and EMS arrived at the scene. There, the cops found the 42-year-old man with cuts and bruising to his head and body, and the 38-year-old man — later identified as Cos Jervis Jonas Ajpuac —with swelling to his legs and stomach; he was later determined to have sustained internal bleeding.
EMS rushed both men to Maimonides Medical Center. While the 42-year-old man was treated and released, Ajpuac’s condition took a turn for the worse, and he died of his injuries on Oct. 2. Following an autopsy, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s office classified his death as a homicide.
EMS rushed both men to Maimonides Medical Center. Police said Ajpuac suffered internal bleeding and his condition eventually took a turn for the worse; he died on Oct. 2. The 42-year-old man was released not long after he received treatment for his wounds.
Police on Oct. 9 released photos and video of Corocoj and Perez, who remain at large. Both perps are known to frequent the area around McDonald Avenue and Ocean Parkway. The NYPD provided video of both men walking inside the ShopRite on the night of the attack.
So far, no arrests have been made, but the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding the incident can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Homicides have doubled in the 66th Precinct year to date from 2023, according to the latest police data. Last year saw two reported murders compared to four during the same time period this year.
Total violent crime in the area, including murder, rape and robbery, is also up 2.31%, per the data.
