‘Hazmat Killer’ Sentenced to Prison for East Side Deli Clerk Murder

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. recently announced the sentencing of Kimond Cyrus, 42, to 24-years-to-life in state prison for the fatal shooting of 67-year-old Sueng Chul Choi, an Upper East Side deli clerk, in March 2023.

On Oct. 21, 2025, Cyrus—whom tabloids dubbed the “Hazmat Killer”—pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to one count of Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. He was sentenced on Dec. 5, 2025.

“Kimond Cyrus was sentenced to a significant state prison term for the horrifying shooting of Sueng Chul Choi as he was working his late-night shift,” said DA Bragg. “Cyrus engaged in escalating turned-deadly gun violence—committing a gunpoint robbery before brazenly ending Mr. Choi’s life. Mr. Choi was a father and a hardworking person, and although we cannot bring him back, I hope that his family and loved ones can take solace knowing this defendant has been brought to justice.”

As admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, a few hours before the murder on March 3, 2023, Cyrus entered a building in the Bronx where he changed into a hazmat suit and then rode into Manhattan on a moped.

At approximately 11:20 p.m., Cyrus entered Daona Deli on East 81st Street. He approached a customer, displayed a firearm, and demanded money. The customer pulled money out of his pocket and placed it on the floor. Cyrus pushed him to the floor and turned his attention to Mr. Choi, who was behind the cashier counter.

When Mr. Choi refused to hand over money, Cyrus pistol-whipped him and put his gun to the customer’s head to force Mr. Choi to comply. Cyrus then demanded that Mr. Choi go to the rear of the store and followed him.

The customer was able to run outside the deli when they left. Cyrus shot Mr. Choi in the head moments later. A separate eyewitness observed Cyrus walk out of the deli and to his moped. That witness entered the store and found Mr. Choi lying on the floor, unconscious and bleeding from his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“We must put an end to these brutal assaults on our bodega owners. These criminals must be taken off our streets and punished,” said Radahmes Rodriguez, head of the United Bodegas of America, after the slaying. “This is happening across our city without limits and it must stop.”

Cyrus was arrested a few days later in the Bronx. Suspicions at the time that Cyrus was also responsible for further armed robberies in Brooklyn and the Bronx proved to be true.

According to allegations in court documents and statements made on the record, Cyrus also committed three gunpoint robberies across two other boroughs within the same week as the murder. In each of the robberies, he was alleged to have displayed a firearm and worn a white hazmat suit, a face mask, and gloves. Those charges are pending in the other boroughs.