A Bronx father who served more than two years on Rikers Island for a knife attack he didn’t commit was stabbed to death early Saturday outside a rowdy bar, police and family said.
Baraquiel Castelan, 32, was stabbed in the neck during an altercation on Feb. 3 outside El Chicanito, a bar and restaurant on East 153rd Street in Melrose, police said, leaving some locals wondering how the nightspots They are affecting the neighborhood.
“He gave without receiving anything in return,” Olivia Castelan, the victim’s 29-year-old sister, said of her brother.
“He would see someone fighting and try to separate; he was never violent with anyone,” he added. “He earned the respect of the community.”
On Monday, a makeshift memorial for Baraquiel was set up outside the bar, where community members left candles spelling BARA, the first letters of his name.
Baraquiel leaves behind two daughters, ages 9 and 1, the eldest “in shock” at the sudden death of her father.
“She just can’t believe it. But she says ‘she is with my grandfather now’. Now they’re both together,’” Olivia says, referring to herself and Baraquiel’s father, who was murdered in Mexico last year.
Police have released this photo of a suspect in the Saturday stabbing death of Baraquiel Castelan, 32, a Bronx father of two, who was killed outside the El Chicanito bar and restaurant on Melrose. new york police
The family has dealt with several recent tragedies, including Baraquiel’s wrongful imprisonment for 27 months at Rikers Island, which devastated both him and his family, relatives said.
“When he was at Rikers we felt like we were there with him,” Olivia said. “He had post-traumatic stress disorder… Mentally it took its toll on him.
“That was very hard for us,” Olivia added. “You are out of your daughters’ lives, you are paying for something you didn’t do.”
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After his exoneration and release, Baraquiel was just beginning to put his life back together.
“After that, his life changed. He took care of his daughters, he was a great father,” he said, noting that the family still has a pending legal case against the NYPD Baraquiel filed in 2018, which they “plan to continue” even after his death.
The night of her brother’s murder, Olivia was sickened to see that everything remained the same in El Chicanito.
El Chicanito, as well as the Da Finest Events teen lounge next door, are known in the community as magnets for violence, residents told The Post. Google Maps
“I want them to close that place. Someone was murdered there. Killed there. That same night I went there and they were open,” he told The Post.
“Can they keep going but our lives stop? Is our life on pause? They just want to move on, celebrate, continue with their business, but we have to make plans to bury my brother.”
El Chicanito operates in a nondescript cement building with only two windows, both boarded up. Neighborhood residents and business owners said the watering hole sometimes attracts violent customers.
“The community is very afraid. The neighbors are terrified. “Everyone talks and complains and the city does nothing,” Steve Jacobs, owner of A&Z Electronics located on the same corner as the bar, told The Post.
Eivette said the bar and another nightspot aimed at teenagers have had the neighborhood on edge.
“There is always blood here,” Eivette said. “Just a year ago, someone was stabbed there and died right there.”
Police are asking the public for tips and have released photos of a possible suspect in the attack, but as of Monday no arrests have been made.
There was no answer at a phone number for El Chicanito on Monday afternoon.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn