STEINWAY — The liquor store owner killed during a man's violent spree through Astoria Sunday was remembered as a kind person and beloved landlord who greeted neighbors as they walked past his shop and let regulars buy things on credit when they were short on cash, friends and acquaintances said.
George Patouhas, 55, was stabbed to death by 23-year-old James Patrick Dillon when he tried to boot him from his store, Astoria Liquors and Wines at 38-18 Astoria Blvd., after Dillon started a fight with an employee there, according to police.
Dillon also set a 61-year-old man on fire during the encounter, which took place just hours after he slashed a neighbor in the face a few blocks away, police said.
"Things don't happen like this here," said Denise Toro, 58, who lives around the corner from Patouhas' store and stopped in from time to time.
"He's a nice, hardworking man," she said.
The liquor store was still roped off by police tape Monday morning, where neighbors had left bouquets and a wreath of flowers on the sidewalk. Blood spatter could be seen inside along the counter, while signs still hung in the windows advertising an upcoming wine tasting event.
Patouhas had emigrated from Greece, and had a wife and young daughter, friends and neighbors said. In addition to running his store, he owned three buildings in the neighborhood, city records show.
"George was a good man. Somebody didn't pay the rent, he was there for them, he didn't kick them out," said Herbert Martinez, a close friend who visited the store Monday, where he stood behind a string of police tape and began to cry.
"I'm so hurt, to lose such a good friend," he said. "He loved Astoria, his wife."
Neighbor Steve Guerrero, 39, also stopped by the store to leave a bouquet of flowers. Patouhas would greet him everyday as he passed the liquor shop on his way to work, he said.
"He was that kind of guy," Guerrero said. "Just a really nice, very pleasant man."
Shaeen Hasnat, 41, a tenant in one of Patouhas' buildings for 16 years, said he also stopped to chat with the store owner daily.
"I never met a landlord like this in New York," he said. "It's like losing a family member."
Frank O'Connor, a longtime customer, said Patouhas often helped out people on the block, and would let regulars buy things on credit if they were short on cash.
"I would talk to him all the time," he said, adding he'd bought a bottle of wine from Patouhas the day of the stabbing, but that he didn't plan to drink it now. "He was the best guy."
O'Connor said he knew Dillon, the assailant, as someone who often hung around the neighborhood, walking his dog.
Dillon — who sources say is the son of an FDNY lieutenant — was shot during a standoff with police Sunday night, ending an all-day crime spree that began earlier that day when he slashed a woman in the face on 36th Street off Astoria Boulevard shortly after 11 a.m.
He killed Patouhas and set a man on fire at the liquor store several hours later, police said. He then tried to break into an apartment on 42nd Street just after 5 p.m., but fled after a resident called 911.
Dillon was shot shortly after near his home on 36th Street after he sprayed two police officers with a liquid accelerant and refused to drop the knife he was carrying, the NYPD said.
He was still hospitalized Monday and had yet to be arraigned, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.
