Coffee Shop Slasher Indicted; Hell’s Kitchen Apartment Scammer Wanted!

The revolving door of justice and social services in lieu of prison time goes round and round—sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

A recent example of the latter outcome can be seen in the indictment of the prolific recidivist Wagner Louis, 32, for the attempted murder of a 50-year-old male worker at Moka & Co., a recently opened Yemeni-themed coffee shop at 142 W. 34th Street, almost across the street from Macy’s, between Seventh Avenue and Broadway.

The incident occurred on Aug. 7, at around 3pm, when Louis was asked to leave the shop after causing a commotion with customers and arguing with a store employee.

The altercation continued for minutes outside the shop, until Louis spat on the worker, starting a brief fight that ended when Louis whipped out a blade and slashed the coffee man’s neck.

Somewhat surprisingly, he then fled in a waiting white Honda Civic, which Midtown South cops quickly apprehended near Park Avenue and East 33rd Street. At present, there’s no indication of who the driver was or if they were aware of the alleged crime that Louis had just committed.

The victim, who was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical but stable condition, was described to the Daily News as a Spanish immigrant, “calm,” “loving,” and “like the grandpa of the store.”

According to New York Post, Louis has 31 prior arrests, including three still-ongoing cases in Brooklyn on charges ranging from attempted murder and weapons charges to criminal possession of stolen property. In all these cases, Louis pled not guilty and made bail.

With his latest alleged crimes, the revolving door stops. Charged with 2nd Degree Attempted Murder and other assault counts, Louis pled not guilty at his Criminal Court arraignment and the court agreed to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s request that Louis be remanded without bail. And off to Rikers Island he went.

His next scheduled court date is Sept. 10.

Hell’s Kitchen Apartment Scammer Wanted!

A NYPD Detective’s Bureau “Wanted” poster was recently posted by an unusual source for such notices, District 3 Council Member Erik Bottcher. It appears that multiple prospective tenants for a new apartment in Hell’s Kitchen have been scammed by a con man that NYPD names as Nicholas Fuelling.

According to one NYPD incident report:

“On Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2025, at approximately 3:42pm, inside of 334 W. 47th Street within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct, the 25-year-old male victim stated a known individual did fraudulently pose as a landlord, show him an apartment, and ask for a security deposit after agreeing to rent the apartment. The victim gave the security deposit to the individual and it has not been returned.”

Speaking to WABC-TV, Bottcher and two victims said they were lured to the location by a $3,200-a-month sublet offer. At least six vicimts fell prey to the scam.

There are no arrests, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone having information on Fuelling’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact NYPD Det. Yousef Demes at 212-767-8415, or Detective Borough Manhattan South at 212-477-7447.