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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Homeless Man Charged for Beating Queens Man to Death at Bus Stop, DA Says

FAR ROCKAWAY — A homeless man was charged Friday for beating to death and robbing a 57-year-old man at a bus stop in Far Rockaway Thursday morning, the Queens District Attorney said.

Danthony A. Horton, 34, encountered Ricardo Cruz, 57, in front of 21-50 Mott Ave. early in the morning Thursday. 

Horton punched Cruz once in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and knocking him unconscious. When Cruz regained consciousness and began to move, Horton returned and kicked him five times in the face. Horton then took off Cruz's sneakers and threw one of them at Cruz’s head, according to criminal charges. 

Before he left, Horton went through Cruz’s front pants pockets, then flipped him over, dropping him on his face, in order to remove the items out of Cruz's back pockets, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.

“This is a truly troubling case," Brown said in a statement. 

Cruz was taken to St. John’s University Hospital with head trauma and was declared dead at the hospital.

Horton is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.