Two men arrested in brutal beating of Ray’s Candy Store owner, 90

Two Manhattan men were arrested for the brutal beating and attempted robbery of the 90-year-old owner of Ray’s Candy Store in the East Village.

Luis Peroza, 39, and Gerald Barth, 55, were arrested on Friday over the horrific attack that left Ray Alvarez with a black eye and eating through a straw, the New York Post reports. 

Police said Peroza has been charged with assault, noting that he also faces charges for several robberies in February that included Alvarez’s store on Avenue A. 

Law enforcement sources told the Post that Barth, too, was arrested for other robberies in the East Village.  

Police arrested Luis Peroza, 39, (left) and Gerald Barth, 55, (right) in connection to the brutal assault and attempted robbery at the famous Ray’s Candy Store in the East Village 

Store owner Ray Alvarez, 90, was allegedly assaulted by Peroza with a weapon described as ‘a belt with a heavy rock on the end,’ leaving the elderly man with a black eye (above)

The attack against Alvarez happened outside the 24-hour candy store early Tuesday morning when a balaclava-clad man entered the establishment and threatened to kill the 90-year-old. 

The man left, but came back wielding ‘a belt with a heavy rock on the end,’ according to investigators. 

A blow from the makeshift weapon reportedly left Alvarez, who had been working the overnight shift at the iconic store on Avenue A, on the ground bleeding as the suspect fled down the street.

The attack also saw another Ray’s employee who had been working overnight with Alvarez hit in the chest. The pair did not require hospitalizations, and would only call cops the next day.

Police alleged that the man who attacked Alvarez was Peroza, who was caught on security cameras fleeing the scene. 

NYPD officials said Peroza has 10 prior arrests going back to 2001, and he was arrested on Friday following multiple robberies in the area. 

Along with robberies, Peroza has been previously arrested for assaults, criminal mischief and petit larceny. 

Police sources told the Post that Barth also had prior run-ins with the law and was suspected of carrying out other robberies.  

Hours after the robbery at Ray’s Candy Store, Barth allegedly attacked a 51-year-old on Avenue B, stealing the victim’s cell phone after they denied him a cigarette. 

Caught on camera fleeing the scene, the suspect – now identified as Peroza by police. Officials said he was also arrested for a string of robberies in the area on Friday 

Alvarez, who had been working the overnight shift at the iconic shop he’s owned since 1974, was left on the ground bleeding, with the suspect fleeing down the street

Alvarez shelled out $30,000 in the 70s to build his iconic, 24 hour establishment 

Born Asghar Ghahraman, Alvarez migrated to the US from the Middle East in the early 70s, just a few years before residents of his native country overthrew the presiding Pahlavi government during the Iranian Revolution.

Initially working as a waiter in Manhattan, Alvarez raised enough funds to buy the store he had dreamed of running in 1974, when New York was struggling through a series of financial crises that nearly culminated in the city’s bankruptcy.

Shelling out $30,000 for the space, Alvarez opened up for business later that year, and has continued to man his shop, even sleeping in the back at times, for nearly half a century.

During that span, the Avenue A shop – which was almost forced into foreclosure during the pandemic – has served customers ranging from Madonna to Kim Kardashian, while serving as a call-back to an earlier age when soda shops in New York were especially abundant.

The Avenue A shop – which was almost forced into foreclosure during the pandemic – serves as a call-back to an age when such soda shops on the streets of New York were common

Born Asghar Ghahraman, Alvarez migrated to the US from the Middle East in the early 70s, just a few years before the Iranian Revolution

The business, like many others in the Big Apple, nearly went under during the pandemic, and reportedly struggled to keep up with food and electric costs.

Alvarez, however, refused to raise his prices – which have changed little over the past 49 years – citing how he would never do that to his loyal customers.

New Yorkers would then band together to organize a fundraiser for the senior ahead of his 90th birthday last month, rather than see him forced into retirement.

‘We want to help Ray stay in business for as long as he wants until he decides to hang up his apron on his terms,’ a description for the fundraiser, titled Ray’s 90th B-day Celebration, explained.

It has since raised more than $58,000 – more than half of its $90,000 goal.