A homeless man fatally bashed another vagrant over the head with a cane in Manhattan — simply because the victim asked for a cigarette, police said Tuesday.
Victim John Horton, 54, approached Vincent Foster, 36, on Ninth Avenue near West 44th Street in Hell’s Kitchen around 3:10 p.m. Wednesday and asked for a cigarette, authorities said.
Foster responded by walloping Horton in the head with a cane, cops said. It was unclear whether the cane belonged to the victim or the suspect.
Horton was rushed with head trauma to Bellevue Hospital, where he died two days later, police said.
Foster was arrested and charged with felony assault, cops said. The district attorney’s office will now determine whether to upgrade the charges against him in the wake of Horton’s death, authorities said.
Foster was ordered held on $75,000 bail, records show.
While in custody, he was involved in another fight for which he was arrested, too, cops said. No details were immediately available.
Horton’s last known address was in upstate Pleasantville, and Foster was listed at an address in Alton, Ill., according to police.