Punch was deadly
THE DEATH of a Long Island man found unconscious outside a Queens strip club has been declared a homicide, police said Wednesday.
Kevin Figueroa, 24, of Elmont, was leaving the Vanity Gentlemen’s Lounge on Queens Blvd. near Hillyer St. in Elmhurst at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday when he was attacked.
Responding officers found Figueroa sprawled out on the street near the club, suffering from a massive head wound. Medics rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he died.
Video surveillance from the scene shows Francisco Flores, 20, punch Figueroa after he was knocked unconscious during a fight with a group of men outside the club, police sources said. Fists started flying when someone tried to talk to Flores’ girlfriend.
Figueroa was standing nearby, but was not involved in the earlier fight, police sources said. The force of Flores’ punch sent Figueroa reeling backward and his head slammed into the sidewalk, causing the fatal wound, authorities said.
Cops arrested Flores a short time later and charged him with assault. He was released on his own recognizance after a brief arraignment Sunday. Charges are expected to be upgraded.
Figueroa’s death has stunned his community.
“Kevin and his brother are really, really good kids,” neighbor Carlton Gregory said Saturday. “I’m proud of them just like my own kids.”
Figueroa’s friend, Melissa Pierre-Louis, 23, who went to high school with him, described her pal as kind-hearted and hard working.
“Even if he would go out and have fun, he would always wake up for a 5 o’clock in the morning job,” Pierre-Louis said.