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Co-Workers of Man Fatally Stabbed During Robbery Raise Funds for His Burial

 Juan Carlos Luna-Juarez at his 23rd birthday, weeks before he was fatally stabbed during a botched cell phone robbery in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Sept. 7. His former co-workers at the Lincoln Park Tavern in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens are raising money to cover his funeral costs and medical bills for his brother, who survived the attack.
Juan Carlos Luna-Juarez at his 23rd birthday, weeks before he was fatally stabbed during a botched cell phone robbery in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Sept. 7. His former co-workers at the Lincoln Park Tavern in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens are raising money to cover his funeral costs and medical bills for his brother, who survived the attack.
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juanfund.com

PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — The co-workers of two brothers who were stabbed — one of them fatally — during a robbery in Bedford-Stuyvesant earlier this month have raised more than $3,400 to help their family cover the cost of the funeral and medical bills.

Juan Carlos Luna-Juarez, 23, and his brother Angel, 24, were stabbed during a botched cellphone robbery on their way home from work at Lincoln Park Tavern, a Mexican restaurant in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens on Sept. 7. Both were taken to Kings County Hospital, where Juan Carlos was pronounced dead, according to police.

When word of the tragedy reached the restauraunt, co-workers immediately pitched in to help.

"A lot of people had the same idea from the very beginning," said Laura Frenzer, a server at the Lincoln Road eatery who described both brothers as "mild-mannered and sweet."

"The first thing…was to start collecting envelopes, collecting money at the restaurant," she said.

An online campaign and in-person donations from the Tavern — which workers described as a "neighborhood hangout" with a close crew and lots of regulars — covered the cost of sending Juan Carlos' body back to Mexico where his mother lives, according to his cousin, Luis Rugerio.

When a friend presented Rugerio, who also works at the Tavern, with the first $1,500 that had been raised for the family, he said he "couldn’t help but tear up and cry."

"Working in the community where everyone takes care of each other, you feel blessed," he said of the effort, describing his fellow servers, cooks and bartenders as "distant relatives."

And the fundraising effort is not over. Angel Luna-Juarez, Juan Carlos' brother, spent several days in the hospital, Rugerio said, and cannot work during his ongoing recuperation. Organizers of the “Juan and Angel Fund” hope to help cover his medical bills.

“Everybody was in shock that it happened,” Frenzer said. “I think people really do want to help when something terrible like this happens.”

Police arrested Miguel Bello, 31, Carmello Bello, 25, Celestino Martinez, 22, Martin Carillo, 33, and Javier Ortiz, 33, at the scene of the Sept. 7 stabbing, officials said. They were arraigned on charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

To donate to the Luna-Juarez family, please visit juanfund.com.