SUSPECT IN WAITRESS SLASHING NABBED
The manager of a Chelsea restaurant where a woman was slashed with a knife chasing down a customer who allegedly skipped out on his tab praised police for work that led to his arrest yesterday and vowed “justice would be done.”
Gilberto Ramos, manager of Las Pupusas Del Chino restaurant, said, “It doesn’t change the past but at least something has been done about this. At the moment, I’m more concerned about her recovery.”
Ramos said he has advised his waitress, who has still not been identified by authorities, not to chase after customers who don’t pay. “It’s brave, but at the same time, it’s wrong. She knows that. Everybody in there knows that. It’s one of our main concerns.”
Gerardo Reyes Menjivar, 36, of Lynn was apprehended in Beltsville, Md., by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, Chelsea police Chief Brian A. Kyes announced in a released statement.
Chelsea detectives on Tuesday placed a nationwide memo to “be on the lookout for” Menjivar and his car. Investigators worked tirelessly in their efforts to track Menjivar, Kyes said.
“Today after a successful nationwide law enforcement effort we placed a violent individual into custody and our community is safer,” Kyes said. “I thank the many agencies involved that worked in unison with our department to apprehend Menjivar.”
Menjivar will be held in Maryland as a fugitive from justice as the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office works on his rendition back to Massachusetts, police said. He faces multiple charges including assault with intent to murder, police said.
Menjivar is alleged to have assaulted a 34-yearold waitress who was hospitalized with what police said were “two slash wounds, one to her throat and one to her arm,” about 11 p.m. Monday night, police said.
The woman was found in the middle of Blossom Street about a half-block from the eatery.
Ramos said he looked forward to the return of his waitress. “I’m pretty sure that nothing is going to stop her from coming back to work,” as long as she recovers, he said.