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Man Beats Neighbor With Pan, Stabs Him With a Nail, Police Say

By Emily Frost | November 17, 2014 6:12pm
 The man beat and stabbed his neighbor and left him unconscious in the hallway after they got in a heated argument. 
The man beat and stabbed his neighbor and left him unconscious in the hallway after they got in a heated argument. 
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Aaron Biller

UPPER WEST SIDE — A resident of a West 94th Street SRO attacked another tenant in the building hallway, stabbing him three times with a nail and beating him in the head with a cooking pan before being arrested Saturday, police said.

Benjamin Riley, 46, stabbed and beat his neighbor after the two got in an argument over a sticker posted on the victim's door about 1:35 a.m. Nov. 15 at 319 West 94th Street, according to Captain Timothy Malin of the 24th Precinct and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. 

Prosecutors claimed Riley used a four to five-inch long nail, which Malin described as "larger than an average nail," puncturing his neighbor in the torso.

After the attack, Riley was found wielding a screwdriver and knife, which he kept for protection, Malin said. 

The beating was first reported by the West Side Rag.

The dispute erupted after the victim found Riley peeling a sticker posted on the neighbor's door, stating he  was late on his rent, Malin explained. Both men were rent-regulated tenants, he said. 

Residents of the building found the victim bloody and unconscious in the hallway, the criminal complaint said.

Emergency responders at first thought the neighbor would die because of the severity of his head trauma, but his condition was upgraded to critical but stable by Sunday morning, said Malin. He was transported to St. Luke's hospital, according to the criminal complaint.

Riley is charged with assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. 

DHS did not immediately respond to request for comment. 

Riley's lawyer did not return request for comment.