A Queens grand jury on Tuesday indicted a Corona man on murder charges accusing him of stealing another man’s bike and fatally stabbing him when the cyclist resisted, according to prosecutors.
District Attorney Melinda Katz’s office said 33-year-old Nelson Torres faces up to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Spring Valley resident Anderson David Archila Martinez last month. Torres was also indicted on charges of murder in the second degree, robbery and weapons possession.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise ordered Torres to be held in jail until his next court date on Sept. 3, prosecutors said.
Torres’ attorney declined to comment.
Archila Martinez accidently bumped into Torres’ backpack while riding a bike as Torres stood in line for a food truck near Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona shortly after midnight on April 14, according to Katz’s office. Prosecutors said the men got into an argument and Torres stole Archila Martinez’s bike after pushing him off while holding a knife.
Archila Martinez called 911 and chased Torres until he knocked him off the bike, the DA’s office said. Torres then stabbed Archila Martinez in the abdomen, according to the indictment.
Archila Martinez was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
“As alleged, the defendant violently ended the life of a young man who did nothing more than bump into him,” Katz said in a statement.
