Transgender Stabs Postal Worker in NYC, Sentenced to 15 Years

Key Points Summary โ€“ Transgender stabs postal worker

  • Transgender woman Jaia Cruz fatally stabbed postal worker Ray Hodges
  • Crime occurred inside the Harlem deli during a dispute over a line
  • Cruz claimed Hodges insulted her gender identity before stabbing
  • Plea deal downgraded murder charge to manslaughter
  • The victimโ€™s family erupted in court, furious over the lenient sentence

Transgender Stabs Postal Worker After Deli Argument

A transgender woman who brutally killed a postal worker inside a Harlem bodega has been sentenced to just 15 years behind bars โ€” and the victimโ€™s family says itโ€™s a disgrace.

Jaia Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of Ray Hodges, a 36-year-old USPS employee and father of two. Cruz had initially been charged with second-degree murder for the January 2 stabbing.

But prosecutors struck a plea deal in April, enraging Hodgesโ€™ loved ones. โ€œThis is pure evil,โ€ said the mother of Hodgesโ€™ children, slamming the judge for allowing the deal.

Victimโ€™s Family Slams Court: โ€˜He Deserved Betterโ€™

The tragic encounter happened inside Joeโ€™s Deli Grocery when Cruz allegedly cut in line. Hodges confronted her, and Cruz responded with deadly violence, stabbing him to death.

In court, Cruzโ€™s lawyer claimed Hodges had made a slur about her gender identity before the attack. The defense also requested that Cruz be sent to a womenโ€™s prison due to ongoing gender-transition treatments.

But to Hodgesโ€™ family, none of it mattered. They wore โ€œJustice for Rayโ€ shirts to the sentencing and shouted โ€œItโ€™s a boy!โ€ in protest. โ€œYou get broken families,โ€ one relative yelled. โ€œWe are the proof.โ€

Judge Calls It โ€˜Senseless,โ€™ Victimโ€™s Family Sees Injustice

Judge Gregory Carro acknowledged the violence as a โ€œsenseless killing over a trivial misunderstanding.โ€ But he added that proving Cruzโ€™s intent to kill was difficult โ€” a statement that seemed to justify the plea bargain.

Still, the light sentence after such a vicious act has shaken faith in the justice system. Cruz, who has a violent criminal history, had been free when she attacked Hodges in broad daylight.

Now sheโ€™ll serve just 15 years, while a family mourns a father taken too soon. The phrase โ€œtransgender stabs postal workerโ€ has become a lightning rod for outrage across the city.

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