Thursday, December 4, 2025

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: 
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