Amazon Worker Knifed in Face

New York, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – A 23-year-old Amazon delivery driver said he was scarred for life – physically and emotionally - after being stabbed in the face while working.  

His attack was one of the latest attacks on workers doing their jobs across the country.  

William Herrera of Yonkers was delivering packages earlier this month in the Bronx when a suspect walked up behind him and sliced his face from his lip to his earlobe, police reports said. Surveillance video captured the attacker, dressed all in black, approach Herrera and jab him with an object in his right hand. After the two struggled, Herrera moved to run around the delivery van, and the suspect followed him out of view of the camera. Video later showed Herrera bleeding from his face and reaching out to flag down an officer for help.  

"I got to look every day in the mirror and see this on my face," Herrera told NBC New York. "I've never had one stitch in my entire life and the first time I got a stitch, I got 110 stitches?" 

Herrera told police that the attacker seemed intent on wounding him rather than taking something from the unlocked Amazon delivery van.  

"My van was completely open. He could have took the whole van if he wanted to," Herrera told media outlets. "He didn't take nothing. He just wanted to cut me, I guess." 

Police are asking anyone with information about the attack to come forward.  

In Brooklyn this week, a worker at a New York City weed shop attacked a city investigator looking into reports the store was operating without a license. 

Prosecutors said in a Feb. 8 press release that the employee shoved the inspector into a window last year, when the investigator tried to shut the store down.  

Ariante Moss, 27, allegedly shoved the inspector out of the Big Chief Exotics Smoke Shop and smashed a door on his arm when he realized the man “was a law enforcement agent,” the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said. Agents with the Department of Taxation and Finance later arrived with a closure order and shut the store down permanently.  

Prosecutors said the shop had previously been the subject of two surprise inspections from the Office of Cannabis Management and had had unlicensed marijuana products seized. At the time, the office had ordered them to “cease unlicensed activity,” Eric Gonzalez, Brooklyn District Attorney said.  

However, the store continued to operate as an unlicensed marijuana store, leading to the closure.  

Moss was charged with assault, obstructing governmental administration and harassment. The inspector suffered no major damage but did have some bruising after the attack.  

“This defendant didn’t just defy the law by working in a shop that sold unlicensed cannabis products, but also allegedly violently attacked an investigator as he tried to lawfully shut down the illegal business,” Gonzalez said. “In Brooklyn, we have no tolerance for attacks on law enforcement personnel and will now seek to hold the defendant fully accountable.” 

And across the country, in Pleasant Hill, Cal., a city employee is dead after being stabbed to death in the park he worked at.  

Police said the employee was discovered unconscious on the grounds of the Pleasant Hill Park parking lot around 4:50 a.m. After inspection, officers determined the worker had died of stab wounds.  

Police identified the victim a Santiago Jacobo, 37, of Pittsburg, a member of the park’s janitorial staff. Jacobo had been working late Friday night in the park, officials said. When he didn’t come home from work, his wife became concerned and went to look for him. She was the one who discovered his body and called law enforcement, police said.  

“It feels so unreal how his life was taken in such a violent and cowardly way,” Maria Jacobo, a relative of the victim, wrote on a GoFundMe page for the family. “Santiago was a kind hardworking man and will be missed by many loved ones.” 

The Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District (PHRPD) offered condolences to Jacobo’s family.  

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by Santiago Jacobo’s death,” PHRPD General Manager Michelle Lacy said. “PHRPD has been in existence for over 70 years and nothing like this has ever happened before. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, two children, and extended family.” 

Lacy said the city was providing therapy and mental health resources for all PHRPD employees to cope with Jacobo’s death. Additionally, she said she would be meeting with staff to identify what other measures and safety protocols the department could take to mitigate future risks.  

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