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Updated 6/3: Authorities have now said that the victim made up claims of the assault. Police arrested the 18 year old, Noel Torres, who was charged with filing a false report. The charges against the clerk were to be dismissed, according to the Daily News.
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A clerk at Kamaran Deli and Grocery on Avenue A at Fifth Street was arrested for assault after reportedly hitting a customer with a baseball bat and calling her a tranny.
According to the Daily News:
Dia El-Deen Hassan went berzerk when the 18-year-old victim walked into the [deli] ... about 7:50 p.m. Tuesday and tried to buy beer and other items, police and sources said.
The freewheeling East Village is known for tolerance — but not on this day.
Hassan, 20, pushed a plastic display case and grabbed the victim’s arm before picking up the bat and hitting her with it all over her head and body, sources said.
“I’m not serving a tranny!” Hassan shouted, according to cops.
The victim, 18, was treated at the scene and declined to go to a hospital.
Updated:
The Daily News updated the article.
A lawyer for the clerk claims the victim, 18-year-old Noel Torres, "is lying and says he has video to prove it."
“Video shows the complainant trying to steal and run out,” lawyer Stuart Meltzer said Wednesday. “It’s not a hate crime. It’s a theft that was trying to be prevented.”
After his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday, Hassan was released on his own recognizance, the Daily News reported.