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VIDEO: Woman Knocked Out Cold by Man Stealing Bud Light Lime, Police Say

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | October 18, 2016 8:46am | Updated on October 18, 2016 2:06pm

 Eve Gentillon, 69, suffered severe head injuries after Richard
Eve Gentillon, 69, suffered severe head injuries after Richard "Kwasi" Springer punched her in the face, police said.
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Handout, Sutphin King Deli and Grill and the NYPD

JAMAICA — A 69-year-old woman was seriously injured when an ex-con out on parole tried to steal a can of Bud Light Lime Straw-Ber-Rita from a bodega and punched her in the face as he walked out the door, police said.

Richard "Kwasi" Springer, 28, had grabbed the $3.50 24 oz. can of flavored beer and thrown $1 on the floor before heading for the door of the Sutphin King Deli and Grill at 107-60 Sutphin Blvd., near 108th Avenue, about 8:10 a.m. Saturday, staff said.

Clerk Methaq Algabyali, 18, picked up the dollar and started arguing with Springer, he said.

"You're not gonna do nothing. Call the police. I will come back to kill someone," Springer said, according to the clerk.

"We started fighting. He pushed me and I pushed him back. He punched me in the face," Algabyali added.

The two grappled for more than two minutes as Algabyali absorbed blows and pinned Springer to various parts of the bodega, surveillance video shows.

As that was happening, another surveillance camera showed two woman approaching the bodega. Eve Gentillon had left church and was heading to the store before meeting up with some friends, said her daughter, Marie Gentillon.

Gentillon stayed outside as another woman walked in and then out again just ahead of Springer, who then flung his fist into the face of Gentillon, who fell prone to the sidewalk.

"The lady fell down on the floor for 20 minutes and couldn't wake up," said employee David Lebron, 51.

"She was on her back. She was bleeding out of her mouth. It looked very bad. The ambulance came. When they put her in, she woke up."

Gentillon suffered serious injuries and was treated at Jamaica Hospital where she's listed in stable condition, police said.

Gentillon, a retired home health aide, suffered brain hemorrhaging, according to her daughter.

"She's fine. She's OK. She doesn't speak. She's still sedated. She moves a little bit now. She opens her eyes," Gentillon's daughter said.

"Because she's a senior, her recovery's going to be slow. She's still on the drugs the hospital gave her."

Her daughter said that Gentillon has a big personality.

"She's loving. She's feisty. She don't let nobody walk over here. She loves telling story," her daughter said.

Springer, whose last known address is on 109th Avenue in Jamaica, fled the scene and hadn't been arrested as of Tuesday morning, police said.

He was described as standing 5-foot-11, weighing roughly 175 pounds and was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans and black boots, police said.

He has the name "Emily" tattooed on his right arm, police said.

Springer often buys beer and cigars at the Sutphin King deli, staff there said.

"I think he was drunk. He'd come one or two times a day. He fights with a lot of stores, not just this one," Algabyali said.

Springer, who was convicted in November 2006 of robbery, spent the next six years behind bars, records show.

He was convicted again in February of robbery, perjury and criminal possession of stolen property, records show.

He was paroled in March, but officials say he has "absconded," records show.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).