Defendant Bludgeoned Victim Over Counterfeit Bill
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been
sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison for the fatal beating of a 28-year-old man, who was
pummeled to death with a wooden tree stake after a drug deal went sour.
District Attorney Clark said “The defendant viciously beat to death a young man,
ending his life over fifty dollars. Now, at the age of 20, Mr. Rodriguez will spend the majority
of his life behinds bars for this brutal crime.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Ruben Rodriguez, AKA Butta, 20, of 1424
Walton Avenue, was sentenced today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Alvin Yearwood to
25 years-to-life in prison. Rodriguez was convicted by a jury of second-degree Murder on
March 24, 2017. His co-defendant, Marquis Carter, 24, pleaded guilty to first-degree
Manslaughter and was sentenced on April 4, 2017 to 14 years in prison followed by five years
post-release supervision.
According to trial testimony, on the early morning of April 23, 2014, in the area of
Grand Concourse and Rockwood Street in Mount Eden, Rodriguez and Carter met with Luis
Melendez to engage in a drug deal. After receiving a fake $50 bill from Melendez, the
defendants repeatedly hit the victim with wooden sticks, striking his head and body, and
causing his death.
DA Clark thanked Detective Edwin Perez of the 44th Precinct and Detective Peter
Cullen from Bronx Homicide, as well as the BXDA Video Unit and BXDA Detective
Investigators for their assistance.
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