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Edwin Pedroza: NYC man arrested for fatally stabbing man who confronted him for not saying thank you

Edwin Pedroza has been charged with manslaughter after killing Joan Nunez, who held the door for him but didn't get a thank you on September 20

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY: An New York resident has been arrested by the police on Friday, October 21 for allegedly stabbing another man, who confronted him for not saying thank you, according to police.

Edwin Pedroza, 42, of the 100 block of Lafayette Avenue, has been charged in connection to the fatal stabbing at 4th Avenue Tobacco Road Corp near President Street in Gowanus on September 20. Pedroza has been charged with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, NY Post reported. With the help of the surveillance footage of the shop, the investigators managed to identify Pedroza just a few days after the brutal stabbing.

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The incident happened on September 20, at around 11.30 pm, when the victim, identified as Joan Nunez, 37, opened the door of the smoke shop for Pedroza. But Pedroza walked straight into the shop without saying thank you and when Nunez confronted him, he verbally abused him which led to a heated dispute between the two. Eyewitness and employee Kharef Alsaidi told ABC, “It was just about not saying 'thank you for opening the door for him.” Sharing more details, Alsaidi quoted Nunez as saying, “Why don't you say, 'Thank you for opening the door'?" To which the suspect responded, "I didn't tell you to open the door for me."

A video has also been released by the NYPD in which Nunez, in a white t-shirt, can be seen engaging in a physical dispute with Pedroza, in a black t-shirt inside the smoke shop. At one point in the video, Pedroza is seen pushing Nunez by the wall and holding his hands up. After a few moments of confrontation, the dispute ended up in a physical altercation that soon moved outside the store.

In a fit of aggression, the victim then asks the suspect to stab him if he can. The suspect quickly runs to his e-bike to grab a knife and stabbed the victim's abdomen and neck. Nunez was rushed to the Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was declared dead. Alsaidi said he tried everything to resolve the fight but nothing worked. "'Just put the knife away. He's not worth it. It's not worth it'. I did my best to de-escalate, but nothing worked." Alsaidi said.

Attorney information for Pedroza wasn’t readily available as of Friday afternoon.