The Manhattan Times

Security guard fatally stabbed at La Casa Del Mofongo

Police are holding three men believed to be involved in the fatal early morning stabbing of a security guard at La Casa Del Mofongo on St. Nicholas Avenue and W. 183rd Street.

The incident occurred at approximately 3:44 a.m. on Tue., Oct. 24 when the guard, Arsene Epouta, 29, tried to remove the men from karaoke night at the restaurant. A scuffle ensued and Epouta, who lives on St. Nicholas Avenue, was stabbed multiple times inside the restaurant. He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Deputy Inspector Andrew Capul, Commander of the 34th Police Precinct, said three men were apprehended by officers on patrol right outside the restaurant as they tried to hop into a livery cab.

Two, Jonathan Gonzales-Alvarez, 21, of W. 233rd Street, and Luis Almanzar, 30, of Kingsbridge Avenue, have been charged with second degree murder.

Capul said the district attorney's office has collected evidence from surveillance video, witness accounts and police line ups.

La Casa Del Mofongo owner Jose Felix Cabrera could not be reached for comment. Cabrera also owns the former Café Espresso, now Marisco Express, on Broadway and W. 207th Street. He is in the process of opening South Beach Restaurant and Bar, a two-story, 11,000-square-foot establishment located on St. Nicholas Avenue and W. 179th Street.
Both locations have applied for liquor licenses and are seeking Community Board 12's support for the applications.
The night of the murder CB12 met for its regular general meeting and tabled the two resolutions in support of Cabrera’s applications until more was learned about the incident.
According to the text of the resolutions, the police had raised no concerns with any of Cabrera's businesses in regards to issuing liquor licenses.
This is the second homicide this year for the 34th Police Precinct, which runs north of W. 175th Street to the tip of Manhattan. The first homicide was Glendalis Pagan, 19, who was found in June strangled and stuffed in a closet on W. 204th Street. Her former boyfriend, Andre Velez, was charged with the crime.