Oneil Millise, 42, was identified as the person of interest in the Aug. 1 fatal stabbing of 33-year-old Diego Sandoval Nava inside the Deli & Mini Market in East New York. Millise has roughly two dozen prior arrests, according to police. Surveillance footage shows Millise entering the store, tossing a dollar on the counter, and asking for a cigarette. The clerk refused to sell a single cigarette because selling "loosies" is illegal in New York. A confrontation escalated; Nava intervened, was stabbed multiple times, and later died at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. Coworkers and friends described Nava as helpful and a father of three.
The unhinged attacker suspected of fatally stabbing a beloved Brooklyn deli worker after a clash over a "loosie" cigarette has been identified as a repeat offender with two dozen arrests on his record, cops said. The NYPD identified Oneil Millise, 42, as the person of interest in the Aug. 1 deadly knifing of Diego Sandoval Nava, 33, inside the Deli & Mini Market at Hegeman and Van Siclen avenues in East New York, authorities said.
Millise was wearing dark shades and a blue-and-white-striped long-sleeve button-down when he strolled into the East New York store and tossed a dollar on the counter, according to surveillance footage viewed by the owner of the deli and his brother. "He came in, he asked for a cigarette," the store owner's brother, who did not want to be identified, previously told The Post. "But the guy working the counter didn't know him, so he didn't want to sell him a cigarette. He wanted to be careful. He didn't want to get a ticket, you know?"
Selling "loosies," or individual cigarettes, is a violation in the Big Apple. Witnesses said the man - furious that the clerk thought he could be an undercover cop - then hurled a credit card machine at him and threatened to kill him. That's when Nava, a dad of three, came out from behind the sandwich counter to calm the perp down, the footage shows. The two then got into a scuffle and Nava was stabbed multiple times in the torso. The suspect fled the scene. Nava was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
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