- A video shows a 16-year-old being put in a chokehold from behind while eating outside of a
New York City restaurant. - Minerva Martinez, 36, was arrested and charged in connection to this incident,
police confirmed.
Video captured the moment a homeless woman appears to choke a 16-year-old while she was sitting at a restaurant in Queens, New York, according to local reports.
The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Minerva Martinez, was arrested on Saturday afternoon and charged with strangulation, an NYPD spokesperson told Insider in a statement Sunday.
Police said the incident occurred at a Watawa Sushi restaurant located in Astoria on Monday, October 4, just after 5 p.m.
-NYPDCrime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) October 9, 2021
NYPD Crime Stoppers posted the video on Saturday which shows the unidentified teen sitting down at the restaurant when the suspect approached the victim from behind and put her in a brief chokehold before walking away.
Police said the victim "sustained pain, redness, and swelling, but was not transported to a hospital."
According to the New York Post, police said they were initially looking for a man when seeking information from the public, but later arrested Martinez in connection to this incident.