Man arrested for attacking beloved 90-year-old candy store owner in East Village: police

On Saturday, police arrested a suspected “next level crazy” wanted for brutally beating the owner of his favorite East Village candy store.

Luis Perosa, 39, was charged with assault after being grabbed by police late Friday night, NYPD officials said.

Deputy Inspector Ralph Clement, Commander of the 9th Precinct, announced the arrest on Twitter.

“We informed Ray today that we have identified and apprehended the perpetrator responsible for this heinous crime,” Clement wrote. “Special thanks to Warrants Section, 9th Detective Squad and Intelligence Section.”

Peroz was wanted for assaulting 90-year-old Ray Alvarez, who had owned Ray’s candy store on Avenue A in the East Village since 1974.

Alvarez was left with a black eye and a rough gash under his left ear after being attacked at 3 am outside his store on Tuesday.

Perosa lives just a few blocks from Alvarez’s candy store, police said.

The suspect and a second man approached Alvarez near E. 7th Street, wanting to sell him some La Croix soda. When the elderly merchant refused, the suspect threatened to kill him and lashed the ninety-year-old in the face with a belt with a stone attached to the buckle.

One of the two men also attacked an Alvarez employee who tried to intervene, the store owner told the Daily News on Thursday.

“One of them hit [my employee] in the chest, and the other guy said: “Hold it, I want to kill this bastard,” Alvarez recalled. “He took what looked like a belt with a stone on it, swung around and hit me on the head. I fell to the floor outside – I bled and bled.”

The assailant, dressed all in black and with a sparse beard, ran away but was caught on security cameras two blocks away pushing a purple shopping cart filled with items, police said.

Alvarez returned to his store on Thursday morning.

“I was very shocked, but I came back,” he said. “I had to do my job. I returned before 9 am the next day. I had an ice cream delivery and I had a lot to do.”

Eyewitness collaborator Gabe Thorne said one of the assailants asked Alvarez, “Do you believe in Satan?”

“Ray didn’t really know what he was talking about,” Thorne said. “And this guy was really weird… It was next level insanity.”

Perose’s indictment in Manhattan criminal court was expected on Saturday.