Two men have been arrested for the horrific deadly beatdown of a 56-year-old fruit vendor and father of three in the Bronx earlier this month, police said.
Cops charge that on Sept. 12 around 7:30 p.m., Romel Jarrett, 37, and Terrence Downes, 44, attacked vendor Leslie Sanchez. During the relentless beating, injuries to Sanchez were so bad his face was “nearly unrecognizable,” his wife charged in an interview with News12 at the time.
Police say Jarrett and Downes initially tried to rob Sanchez near East Fordham Road and Grand Concourse, but when Sanchez resisted, the pair pounded him repeatedly with a metal baseball bat, striking him in the back of the head.
The beloved dad of three died two days later, according to cops. The city medical examiner classified his death as a homicide.
Cops arrested Jarrett and Downes the day before Sanchez died, according to police, charging them with attempted murder and first-degree assault. The charges against the pair have since been upgraded to murder, cops said.