Fight claims life of man at home for mentally troubled

A 30-year-old schizophrenic man was killed in a fight with a neighbor in front of the Brooklyn home for people with mental health issues where both victim and attacker lived, police and his family said Wednesday.

Brandon Paulino got into an argument with Eduardo Martinez outside the MacDougal Street Apartments residence in Brownsville around 1:40 p.m. Sunday, according to cops. The 65-unit facility on MacDougal St. near Broadway opened in 2012 and is run by nonprofit Concern Housing.

A witness and Martinez both told police that Paulino (photo) baselessly accused Martinez of raping a 3-year-old girl and then threw a punch, according to prosecutors.

Paulino, who Martinez said was much bigger than him, grew tired during the clash and lied down on the ground, they added.

Martinez allegedly then placed Paulino in a chokehold until he lost consciousness. Medics rushed the man to Interfaith Medical Center, where he died at 2:53 p.m. the same day, cops said.

On Wednesday, Paulino’s heartbroken family told the Daily News the man had not received his medication and was suffering “an episode” when he attacked Martinez, whom the victim thought of as a friend.

“He gets paranoid when he doesn’t get his medication,” said the victim’s sister, Anabelle Paulino, 20. “He got out of breath and collapsed. [Martinez] killed him by choking him.”

Last year, Paulino’s family moved him to the facility from a group home in Staten Island, where he hadn’t been happy.

“We moved him to that facility so he could be near us,” said the sibling. “He started getting sick about 12 years ago but things really went bad with COVID [when] he started gaining weight and getting sicker.”

Paulino’s father questioned where security was during the fatal fight.

“They couldn’t do anything?” the man asked of security. “[The fight] is on video, why couldn’t they help him? This just can’t go away.”

Concern Housing did not immediately answer a request for comment.

“I thought he was going to bury me, now I have to bury him,” said the grieving man, who did not want to be identified. “He was the only boy I had.”

The city Medical Examiner determined Paulino died of asphyxiation, with Martinez telling cops he did not mean to kill the man, according to a criminal complaint.

“I don’t want to see him buried,” Anabelle Paulino said of her brother. “He didn’t deserve to die, he didn’t deserve this.”

Martinez was charged with manslaughter on Tuesday. He was ordered held on $100,000 bond during his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Wednesday.

Martinez’s attorney believes his client has a strong self-defense claim.

“He was apparently attacked by a very large, belligerent individual and he defended himself,” said the lawyer, Scott Cerbin. “It’ll ultimately be up to a grand jury to decide.”

Martinez was last arrested in 2004, for assault with a deadly weapon and before that, he had a robbery arrest, police said. He has never been arrested for rape and is not on the sexual offender registry.