New Rochelle man sentenced to five years for stabbing following dispute at Bodega

NEW YORK — A New Rochelle man was sentenced to five years in prison for a brutal attack that followed an argument at a Bronx bodega, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office announced.

Shamel Rodriguez, 34, was sentenced Oct. 22 by Bronx Superior Court Judge Joseph McCormack. The sentence, which includes five years of post-release supervision, came after a jury convicted Rodriguez of second-degree assault in June.

Court records show the attack occurred on September 10, 2019, at a bodega on Bryant Avenue. Rodriguez reportedly got into an argument with another man, who responded by throwing a cup of soup at him. Rodriguez then pulled out a knife, chased the man and slashed him three times in the arm.

The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he received 29 stitches to close his wounds. District Attorney Darcel Clark condemned the violence, stating: “The defendant brutally slashed a man who was disrespectful to him. “The response to such explosive violence was a jury verdict and a prison sentence.”

The ruling ends a case that began over five years ago and underlines the court’s position on retaliatory violence in public places.