An altercation between a CVS worker and a shoplifter from a Midtown branch of the chain turned deadly Thursday: the employee knifed the thief in the torso, cops and police sources said.
Employee Scotty Enoe got into an argument with a man allegedly trying to swipe some goods near the door of the CVS on Broadway near West 49th.
“It was a homeless guy. He had a big problem with the security guard with the CVS,” street vendor Modo Gui, a witness, told the New York Daily News.
The thief punched Enoe, according to a police source, with the employee then pulling a knife and stabbing the 50-year-old man at about 12:26 AM cops said.
“They fought and he stabbed him. Boom. Stabbed him dead. It’s crazy,” Gui said.
“This guy attacked him. My brother is a good person. In a situation like that he would defend himself,” Enoe’s sister told the Daily News.
“He’s mentioned a lot of people come off the street and just take stuff. I told him to be careful,” added the sibling, who wished to remain anonymous. “These people are coming off the street and robbing and you never know what they might have — a gun or a knife.”
Officers responding to a 911 call for a robbery in progress arrived to find the would-be shoplifter with a stab wound to his torso. Medics rushed him to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Enoe, 46, was arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to police. He has no prior criminal record.
Enoe’s sister, who lives with him in Brooklyn, said her brother was the breadwinner in their family. This is despite his battle with sickle-cell anemia.
“He works two jobs and he’s never been in trouble. All he does is work. He goes from one job to the next,” she said. “He’s dedicated to hard work and his family. He helps people.”
“I’m on disability. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said.
The deceased man had several prior arrests for shoplifting, including at CVS and Walgreens, a police source said.
Shoplifting has been on the rise in New York City, with Mayor Adams unveiling a plan to tackle it.
