A delusional man died in custody yesterday after going on a rampage in Queens, breaking into a real-estate office and beating a man with a trash can, law-enforcement sources said.
The man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, was seen running in Corona just before 10 a.m., frantically asking for help, before bursting into the offices of Parkview Realty on 108th Street.
“He came running towards me,” said Albert Jimenez, 37. “He screamed, ‘You got to help me! There’s somebody trying to shoot me!’ I tried to stop him and tell him he wasn’t being followed, but he insisted.”
Soon after, he stormed into the real-estate office.
“He was kicking in the doors. Then he ran inside,” said Rita Maruca, the owner. “He did so much damage.”
The man then grabbed a trash can and struck worker Juan Cuadrado in the face, authorities said. All the employees fled, leaving the man inside.
He fought with cops, who cuffed him and put him into an ambulance, where he died.
Cops speculated he died of a drug overdose because witnesses said he roared that he was on cocaine.
An autopsy is pending.