A dispute between two coworkers at a downtown New Haven deli turned violent Thursday night, ending with a 38-year-old man stabbed in the abdomen and a 58-year-old suspect under arrest just blocks away. New Haven police say Miguel Mendoza-Melchor was taken into custody after officers were called to Market on the Green on Church Street at 9:39 p.m.
According to WFSB, police say an argument between Mendoza-Melchor and the victim over a woman led to the stabbing inside the market. Initial dispatch logs reviewed by CTPOLICELIVE indicate the confrontation unfolded between two coworkers before the suspect allegedly stabbed the victim in the abdomen and fled through a nearby alley toward City Hall. Market on the Green, a deli and smoothie shop, sits at 135 Church Street directly across from the New Haven Green, per details listed on Grubhub.
Officers located Mendoza-Melchor a short distance away on Orange Street near Chapel Street, the same report notes. The 38-year-old victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at the scene before being transported to Yale New Haven Hospital, according to the same CTPOLICELIVE dispatch account, which identified the trauma center at 20 York Street as the destination.
Charges Carry Potential for Years Behind Bars
Mendoza-Melchor was charged with assault in the second degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, and breach of peace in the second degree, the WFSB report states. Assault in the second degree involving a dangerous instrument is a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if the offense resulted in serious physical injury, under Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-60, according to Justia Law.
The reckless endangerment and breach-of-peace charges round out the three counts; Flannery Law identifies second-degree breach of peace as a Class B misdemeanor.
Statewide Crime Trends Offer Context
The stabbing occurred on Church Street in downtown New Haven.
Statewide, crimes against persons dropped 15 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, while the total number of crimes reported in the quarter was lower than in any other quarter over the five-year period, according to data reported by the CT Mirror.
It remains unclear whether Mendoza-Melchor has appeared in Connecticut Superior Court or had bond set, and Market on the Green has not issued a public statement regarding the workplace dispute between the two men.
