Transgender male gets 15 years for fatally stabbing man in New York deli; victim’s family outraged

A transgender-identifying male with a history of violence will spend the next 15 years behind bars for fatally stabbing a U.S. postal carrier in a New York City deli.

Jaia Cruz, 24, previously known as Alvin, accepted a plea deal last month that reduced the charge from second-degree murder to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for a guilty plea, Fox News reported.

Cruz expressed remorse through an attorney, who said Cruz wanted to take responsibility for the crime. But the victim’s family wasn’t convinced.

“She didn’t show remorse initially in the beginning,” Ada Rice, the mother of Ray Hodge III, told Fox, referring to Cruz using female pronouns despite his male biology. “She said she was happy when she was stabbing him.”

The Jan. 2 incident began after Cruz and Hodge, 36, reportedly argued over who was next in line at a Harlem deli.

An employee told CBS News that Cruz became angry and started arguing while Hodge was ordering a sandwich. Cruz allegedly spit on him, and Hodge allegedly hurled lemon juice at her, the station reported, leading to the stabbing.

Hodge, who had two children, was rushed to the hospital but later died.

Rice said the violent nature of the attack meant Cruz should not have received a plea deal.

“She stabbed him. She kept stabbing him,” Rice told Fox. “She didn’t stab him once; she stabbed him seven times. She said he was going to be maggot food. She enjoyed it. She told another reporter she hates black men.”

The family criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office for offering the plea deal, saying they wanted the case to go to trial to seek justice for Hodge.

Cruz had at least five prior arrests, the New York Post reported, including for allegedly threatening to slash someone with a box cutter, resisting arrest and using a knife to steal a man’s phone and wallet.

Rice said the sentence, which will be formally imposed at the end of the month, was too lenient.

“(Cruz) got off too easy,” she said. “I just feel cheated. My son was murdered.”

A second-degree murder conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, Fox reported, far more than the 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release agreed to in the plea deal.

“They’re setting an example that it’s OK to murder,” Rice said of Bragg’s office. “You will be home so quick, because even though it says on paper 15, they’ll never do 15 years, so they won’t think twice about it.”

“She’ll kill again,” Rice added. “What’s going to stop her?”