2nd man sentenced for East Village assault spree that included Ray's Candy Store

Gerald Barth was sentenced yesterday to five years in state prison for his role in a series of assaults and robberies in the East Village in 2023, including the attack on Ray Alvarez, the then 90-year-old owner of Ray's Candy Store. 

Barth previously pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted assault in the first degree. His plea follows the earlier sentencing of his co-defendant, Luis Peroza, who received a 10-year prison term in 2024 for his part in the same string of attacks. 

As EVG previously reported, Alvarez was assaulted outside Ray's Candy Store around 3 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2023, after stepping outside for some air. Prosecutors said Peroza struck Alvarez with a belt weighted by a rock, leaving him with a black eye, several broken facial bones and a dislocated jaw. The incident reportedly began after Alvarez declined to buy seltzer water from the suspects. 

A short time later, prosecutors say Peroza and Barth attacked two additional victims in separate incidents — one outside a deli on Avenue C, and another on Avenue B — each sustaining serious facial injuries.

Barth, whose erratic past behavior earned him the nickname "Insanity Claus" in Tompkins Square Park after donning a discarded SantaCon suit, was initially charged with first-degree assault and two counts each of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted robbery. 

"Gerald Barth attacked three strangers over the span of hours, including an assault at Ray's Candy Store — a pillar of the East Village community," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said in a statement. "For his actions, Barth will now serve a state prison term, and I thank our prosecutors for securing accountability for the victims." 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A timeline of events after the assault outside Ray's Candy Store