He Went to Prison for One Punch. 7 Years Later, It Became a Homicide.
The New York Times
Gary Anderson hit Domingo Tapia for reasons never explained, sending Mr. Tapia into a coma and Mr. Anderson to prison. Mr. Tapia later died, and his attacker faces manslaughter charges.
Domingo Tapia and Gary Anderson crossed paths for no more than a second, two lives colliding in a moment of grainy surveillance footage.
Mr. Tapia, a 38-year-old Mexican immigrant who worked as a fruit vendor, had met his brother for a few beers on a summer evening in 2017. They had passed the time and said their goodbyes.
He turned back momentarily to retrieve a bag of fruit he had forgotten at the bar, mounted his bike and glided off toward his wife and two sons, through the quiet streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It was 1:30 a.m.
Two blocks away, Mr. Anderson, a 26-year-old fitness trainer, was standing at Fulton Street and Albany Avenue among a group of men milling around the corner, gesticulating, apparently arguing.
Suddenly, he stalked into the crosswalk, advancing at just the moment Mr. Tapia pedaled into his path. Mr. Anderson took a step, and another, and then he exploded, launching his fist into Mr. Tapia’s face.
Mr. Tapia’s balance failed. The bike spun out. His head smashed against the hard, dark pavement.
