A man stabbed to death during a vicious Chelsea street brawl was wanted for murder in Baltimore, sources told The Post.
A man stabbed to death during a vicious Chelsea street brawl was wanted for murder in Baltimore, sources told The Post.
The victim, 36, was knifed by another man Friday morning during a wild broad-daylight melee in the middle of a crosswalk, where they settled their score as non-plussed New Yorkers went about their business, according to a video of the face-off.
Nisean Graves, 34, a homeless man, was later charged with murder in the fatal encounter and was held without bail during a Saturday appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Video shows Graves instigating the unprovoked confrontation by taking a swing at the victim, said prosecutor Emily Yonan, who noted Graves repeatedly gave officers different names once he was caught.
Graves and the victim fought for several minutes before he allegedly pulled a knife, prosecutors alleged.
The victim, who had no weapon, “threw a kick’ at Graves, who simultaneously swung his blade and stabbed the victim in the chest.
Graves, who is homeless, walked away as the mortally wounded man “collapsed to the ground, while holding his chest with both hands,” Yonan told Judge Stephen Antignani.
The accused was “stopped a little way down the block covered in blood and had the bloody knife in his pocket,” Yonan said, noting the victim was rushed to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries about an hour later.
“This is a strong case with multiple witnesses, video and knife recovered,” Yonan told the court.
During the proceeding, Graves wore the same white hazard suit he had on following his arrest. At one point, his head was bowed as one of his legs shook.
His attorney, Joshua Benjamin griped he did not even know the victim’s name and had no information about the murder case in Maryland
The Baltimore Police Department confirmed the stabbing victim — who has not been publicly identified by the NYPD — is the same individual sought in connection for a slaying there of a homeless man.
No further details were immediately available on the Maryland case, but the victim has been wanted in Baltimore since Oct. 28, authorities said.
While one woman can be seen in the clip walking by and barely giving the fisticuffs a glance, another woman — who appeared to be a nurse — walks right between the men as the larger combatant holds a knife.
She initially tries to play peacemaker before giving them a piece of her mind.
The bare chested victim can be seen in the clip later bleeding in the crosswalk, with cops frantically trying to save the man’s life. EMS took him to Bellevue, where he died.
Major crimes are up 5% this year in the Midtown South district, where the deadly stabbing occurred, while felony assaults have soared 33%, up to 208 from 156, compared to the same period last year, NYPD data through June 4 shows.
