A South Carolina man was arrested in connection with the 2019 knockout of an elderly man from the Bronx who died more than a year later, police said on Tuesday.
Robert Quarles, 60, who now lives in North Charleston, South Carolina, was arguing with James Jones inside his Taylor Avenue apartment in Van Nest on May 9 when he punched him in the face, making him fall headfirst. back and get black out, the authorities said.
More than a year later, on October 17, 2020, Jones, 71, died of his injuries, police said.
The city coroner’s office called his death a homicide, according to the police.
Quarles was arrested on Friday afternoon and charged with two counts of assault, police said.
There is a legal loophole in “punching murder” cases involving a victim who dies after being punched – his attackers avoid the charge of murder or homicide because it cannot be proved that they intended to kill his victim.
The 911 caller reported that she believed the two men lived in the building, according to police. Their exact relationship, or what they were fighting about, was unclear.