Father of man fatally knifed by Queens bodega worker mourns son, calls for arrest

The heartbroken father of the man fatally knifed by a Queens bodega worker after shoplifting from the store called for an arrest at his son’s funeral Saturday, saying through tears that his “beautiful” son should never have lost his life over a “stupid beer.”

“I want to see this guy locked up. I’m going to trust the justice system and let them do their job,” Charles Marino said of the worker who killed Dylan Marino, 21, in a confrontation over a stolen beer on May 7. “I’m very hopeful that they will do a complete, thorough investigation.”

The 21-year-old bodega worker was taken into custody Tuesday and released that evening without charges. Members of a city bodega organization have claimed the worker acted in self-defense.

The 58-year-old father was joined at the send-off by dozens of tearful mourners at St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Pictures of Marino through the years were displayed near his casket, and incense smoke filled the room.

“I think my son would’ve liked his own funeral,” the victim’s mother Kate Dessommes said with a smile. “He liked incense and there was a lot of incense.”

“He was the most beautiful, caring human I ever knew. He will be so, so profoundly missed,” Marino’s father said. “This has been the hardest situation that I ever experienced, it’s just unimaginable.”

Marino walked inside Mini Mart on Queens Blvd. near 64th Rd. in Rego Park at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, swiped a beer from the fridge and left, cops said.

The clerk behind the counter, identified by United Bodegas of America as Netesh Netesh, followed Marino outside and demanded he return the stolen item, sparking a violent fight between the two men, cops said.

During the brawl, Netesh stabbed would-be shoplifter Marino with a pocketknife, Fernando Mateo of UBA said at a news conference outside the store.

“He did not leave this bodega to murder anyone,” Mateo said. “He was robbed. He came out to claim what he believed was his [and] he was attacked. His life was in danger and he had a pocketknife which we believe he used to defend himself.”

Marino’s mother previously told The News that she’d like the bodega to close down as “retribution.”

Netesh is related to the Mini Mart owner and has never been in trouble with the law before, said Mateo.

Marino had three prior arrests in the city, including an arrest for shoplifting in March, attempted robbery in October, and assault in March 2023, cops said.

Marino’s father acknowledged it was wrong for him to shoplift, but argued that the worker never should have followed him outside.

“It was completely wrong for him to lose his life over a stupid beer. He lost his life over a beer and the guy didn’t have to give chase over a beer,” said the father. “I get it you didn’t want to be stolen from and this and that, but he had limited means, he wanted a beer, he grabbed a beer, and it wasn’t worth his life.”

A spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney’s office said, “This is an ongoing investigation and we have no comment.”

Relatives recalled Marino as a sensitive, artistic kid who always had several interests at a time growing up in Portland, Oregon. Marino wound up in Queens in 2021 after his mother made the move to New York.

“He loved music, he liked skateboarding, he liked rap and [rapper] Juice WRLD. He was very interested in working in music. He liked to rap and sing and do his beats,” his mother, Dessommes said.

“I’ll never in this waking world get to hear his voice again,” the elder Marino said emotionally. “Everywhere I look, I’ll see him, I’ll feel him in my house, I’ll never as long as I live forget him.”