Man cops say bludgeoned 4 homeless men to death confessed afterwards: prosecutors

The pipe swinging maniac cops say beat four sleeping homeless men to death with a pipe in Chinatown told police afterwards he was the man caught on camera committing the unthinkable violence, prosecutors said Sunday.

Randy Rodriguez Santos was arrested early Saturday after allegedly going on a homicidal spree, beating four men to death and leaving a fifth in critical condition about 1:45 a.m. Saturday.

After Santos’s arrest, detectives at the Fifth Precinct stationhouse showed Santos video surveillance of the attacks — and the suspect admitted to police he was the man caught on camera, prosecutors said Sunday.

Santos, who has a history of violent arrests, drug abuse and mental health issues, was charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Cops responding to a 911 call of an assault in progress found Chuen Kwok, 83, beaten to death on the street in front of a building on Bowery near Doyers St.

After discovering the bludgeoned senior, cops found a 49-year-old man conscious and bleeding from the head. He was rushed to Lower Manhattan Hospital with a skull fracture. The surviving victim remained in critical condition Sunday after being transferred to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, police sources said.

Three other lifeless victims, one 54 and one 48, who all suffered devastating head trauma, were found about a block away on East Broadway near Catherine St. The third man cops have not been able to identify.

Cops caught up to Santos carrying a blood-splattered pipe on Mulberry and Canal Sts., about a half-mile from the gruesome crime scenes.

“He was apprehended a short period of time after the incident carrying the weapon that was covered in blood and hair,” prosecutor Aflred Peterson said during Santos’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Sunday afternoon.

A stone-faced Santos did not speak or enter a plea during the brief court appearance Sunday.

A sidewalk memorial for the slain men steadily grew in Chinatown as their dried blood remained on the pavement.

A woman who identified herself as a daughter of one of the victims lit four votive candles before she fell to her knees to prayer.

“He’s a wonderful man,” another relative said of the victim.

Kwok was a friendly presence in the neighborhood known widely as “Uncle Kwok.”

“I would bring him traditional Chinese food,” said neighbor Jennifer Sun, a nutritionist. “I would speak to him in Chinese and we would have silly conversations.”

The Mayor’s office and the NYPD increased police presence in the neighborhood Sunday and utilized the Department of Homeless Services to help individuals transition off the street. The Department of Health’s ThriveNYC program also planned to send mental health outreach teams to the area.

Santos is due back in court October 11.