Category Archives: Crime

Man arrested for arson at Bellevue

Bellevue Hospital Center (Photo courtesy of HHC)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

A 24-year-old man was arrested after allegedly setting fires inside Bellevue Hospital.

Police said that a security guard saw Jason Peterson-Ridge on video surveillance starting multiple fires on three different floors shortly after he was discharged as a patient at the hospital on September 24 at 10 p.m.

According to the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Peterson-Ridge approached a hand sanitizer stand inside the hospital and filled the catching tray with hand sanitizer, then lit the vapors, causing them to ignite and start a fire.

The FDNY said that the fire caused the dispenser to melt, resulting in damage to the floor and additionally caused charring to the wall and smoke damage to the wall and ceiling.

Police said that he fled to his apartment nearby, where he was arrested a few hours later at 1:46 a.m.

Peterson-Ridge’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

 

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Teen worker tells would-be robber to get out of ST Dunkin’ Donuts

Tanzina Haque refused demands for cash from a man believed by cops to have robbed or tried to rob five businesses in Manhattan and Brooklyn. (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

Police are looking for a senior citizen who’s had had limited success in a series of robberies, most recently at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Stuyvesant Town.

In that incident, which occurred on Friday, September 8, the man, who’s believed to be 65-70 years old, pulled out a kitchen knife and demanded money from an 18-year-old staffer. However, according to the employee who was reached on the phone this week, Tanzina Haque, the robber didn’t get it.

According to Haque, the interaction started normally with the man asking about prices of the things he wanted, like a doughnut. But then he took out his knife. At first, Haque said she didn’t notice it, so he made a point of telling her he had one while saying, “Give me the money.” However, she refused. The robber asked again, and Haque told him to leave. When he still kept asking, Haque said she got louder, again telling him to leave.

“I said, ‘I’m going to call the cops.’” Finally, the man gave up and left empty-handed.

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Suspect arrested in Kips Bay shooting

Straus Houses (Photo via Google Maps)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested a man last week for a shooting that took place in front of the Straus Houses on East 28th Street at the end of September.

Andres Taveras, 22, allegedly shot a 17-year-old boy around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 26 in the courtyard at 224 East 28th Street.

He was arrested when he turned himself in to an officer who was patrolling near the scene of the crime last Friday at 1:50 a.m.

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Police Watch: Senior charged with sex abuse, Man punches store employee

SENIOR CHARGED WITH SEX ABUSE OUTSIDE GRAMERCY PARK
Police arrested 62-year-old Dean Barlow for sexual abuse at the corner of Gramercy Park East and East 20th Street last Thursday at 6:58 a.m. Barlow allegedly admitted to police that he just “lost it” and grabbed and slapped a woman’s buttocks from behind while she walked. The woman confirmed that it was Barlow who’d grabbed her.

CONFRONTED ABOUT SHOPLIFTING, MAN PUNCHES STORE EMPLOYEE
Police arrested 29-year-old Aleksandr Mashin for robbery and possession of stolen property at the corner of Park Avenue South and East 23rd Street last Monday at 5:58 p.m. An employee at a nearby store told police that he was walking down the aisle when he noticed that a shelf of coffee was empty. He then notiticed that Mashin was allegedly rushing down the aisle while looking back at him. When the employee confronted him about the coffee, Mashin allegedly dragged him on the floor and during the struggle, punched him in the head and fled the store. He reportedly ran north on Park Avenue South until an officer stopped him at the southwest corner at East 23rd Street. No further information was available about which store was involved in the incident.

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‘Bernie Madoff of landlords’ gets one year in jail

Steve Croman

By Kyle Campbell

One of the cityʼs most notorious landlords has been jailed for a year in a rare move by State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to sound a warning bell to unscrupulous New York building owners.

Steven Croman, who has been dubbed “The Bernie Madoff of Landlords,” was sentenced to one year at Rikers Island on Tuesday after pleading guilty to grand larceny and tax fraud.

Croman was also fined $5 million in a plea deal that saw him admit to third-degree grand larceny, first-degree falsifying business records and fourth-degree criminal tax fraud.

Between 2012 and 2014, Croman acquired $45 million in refinancing loans by submitting applications with phony rent rolls that showed market rate rents for units held by rent-stabilized tenants. He also inflated commercial rent payments to pad his on-paper profits and obtain larger loans, according to Schneiderman.

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Woman arrested in connection with fatal butt injection on East 21st Street

Aug3 Fatal butt injection

LATESHA BYNUM

By Sabina Mollot 

Police have arrested a Queens woman believed to have been involved in the death of a woman who received a fatal cosmetic butt injection last summer in an unmarked building near Peter Cooper Village.

Allison Spence, 44, has been arrested on charges of manslaughter and unauthorized practice of profession for the injection. Spence, who police said turned herself in, allegedly acted as a nurse during the procedure, for which the suspected doctor has still not been arrested. Police said they have identified the man but haven’t disclosed his name. That man is not a real doctor, according to a story in CBS New York, but police told Town & Village they couldn’t confirm that at this time.

The procedure was performed at a third floor apartment at 319 East 21st Street, between First and Second Avenues on July 15. Later police were summoned in response to Bynum complaining of dizziness and chest pains. She was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, but 12 days later was taken off life support after being pronounced brain dead.

The medical examiner has deemed the death of 31-year-old mother Latesha Bynum, a Harlem resident, a homicide.

A lawyer for Bynum’s family told CBS New York the doctor is a phony who used a Dunkin Donuts as his waiting room, and that a fake nurse greeted her. The attorney also said the doctor had a pattern of injecting unsuspecting women with “silicone poison into his patients’ buttocks and/or thighs.”

Meanwhile, Spence’s sister told the Daily News her sister denied giving any injection, saying she only prepped the patient by massaging her muscles.

 

NYPD releases descriptions of suspects who maced delivery man in Stuyvesant Town

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

The NYPD released further information on the two suspects wanted for macing and injuring a delivery man in Stuyvesant Town.

As Town & Village first reported, the man was sprayed with mace during a mugging inside 287 Avenue C in Stuyvesant Town on Sunday, September 17.

Police said that the first suspect is described as a black or Hispanic man, approximately 30 years old, 5’5” with a thin build and was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, black shorts, black sneakers and a black baseball hat. The second suspect is described as a black or Hispanic man, approximately 30 years old, 5’6” with a medium to heavy build and was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, black shorts black sneakers and a black baseball hat.

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Police Watch: Slashing on E. 17th Street, ‘Murder’ suspect attempts suicide

MAN ARRESTED FOR E. 17TH ST. SLASHING
Police arrested 61-year-old Jose Delgado for allegedly attacking a man who was going through a garbage bin in front of 1 East 17th Street last Wednesday afternoon.
Police said that the 56-year-old victim was going through the bin when Delgado, who lives at 25 West 24th Street, allegedly came up from behind him and slashed him on the right side of his neck with a knife. The victim was treated at the scene by EMS workers and brought to Mount Sinai Beth Israel but police said that the injury was minor.
Sources said that Delgado was caught in Union Square but no further information was available about what led to his arrest. The district attorney’s office said that Delgado admitted the alleged assault was meant as revenge for a previous incident. He was officially charged at the 13th Precinct last Thursday.

DELAWARE MURDER SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER SUICIDE ATTEMPT
Police from the 13th Precinct arrested a 31-year-old murder suspect, Rondell Veal, on Sunday evening for being a fugitive from another state. Police said that Veal was to be extradited to the county of New Castle in Delaware, where a warrant was issued for felony murder on September 23.
The New York Post reported on Sunday that Veal was caught because he reportedly attempted to commit suicide at Grand Central Terminal around 5:30 p.m., attempting to slash his wrists and neck while standing on the tracks of the 6 train. The Post said that he underwent surgery at Bellevue on Sunday night to repair his trachea. Upon further investigation, police found that Veal was wanted for the fatal stabbing of his wife, Sherrie L. Campbell, who was found dead in their Newark, DE home last Friday. Police said that he may have used the suspected murder weapon to take his own life.

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Man arrested for assault rifle near Madison Square Park

AR-15 assault rifle

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

A man who was arrested inside the Snowfox Café across from Madison Square Park for impersonating a police officer was also charged with weapons possession when police found a loaded AR-15 in his blue Mini Cooper that was parked nearby.

Police also said that 36-year-old Kai Ting Yin was inside the restaurant at 24 East 23rd Street last Wednesday at 11:54 a.m. wearing a bulletproof vest and allegedly carrying a loaded handgun.

When police approached him, he allegedly told them he was a special agent but only had a New York State driver’s license. Yin allegedly told police that his car was parked near the restaurant and when it was searched, police found an alleged AR-15 .556 assault rifle that was loaded with two coupled magazine, which were each capable of holding 30 rounds. Police also reportedly recovered two additional .556 caliber magazines, also capable of holding 30 rounds. A total of 180 .556 caliber cartridges were recovered from the suspect’s car. Police also recovered 20 .45 caliber cartridges, which were inside two magazines that were each capable of holding 20 rounds. Yin was in possession of a gravity knife as well, police said.

The vest Yin was wearing reportedly had patches reading, “Because F—k You, That’s Why,” “Guns and Coffee” and “Sniper.”

The judge ordered that Yin be held without bail and he was charged with three counts of weapons possession and unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

Yin’s lawyer declined to comment on the case.

Serial subway flasher apparently still at it

Suspect Kenneth Hoyt

By Sabina Mollot

Cops are looking for a man with a lengthy history of arrests for flashing women on the subway (as well as other crimes) who they say was up to his old tricks recently.

One of the incidents was at the 28th Street R subway station, where the man, who police suspect is serial subway flasher Kenneth Hoyt, exposed himself before moving on to another train later. There were also two other incidents downtown.

Cops said the man was wearing a long shirt and sneakers, but no pants, when he sat down near a 32-year-old woman on the R train on the morning of August 16 and exposed his crotch. The victim got out at 28th Street but he stayed on the train. A few hours later, at 4 p.m., police believe Hoyt did the same thing as he sat across from a 29-year-old woman on the R train. She got off the train near Murray Street but he stayed on. The most recent known incident was on September 5, when Hoyt allegedly lifted his shirt to expose himself to a 40-year-old woman on the R train near Murray Street.

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Police Watch: Caretaker accused of stealing from senior, Man arrested for purse-snatching

CARETAKER ACCUSED OF STEALING FROM SENIOR ON DAY OF HER DEATH
Police arrested 27-year-old Sanaya Mohammed last Thursday after she allegedly try to deposit a check made out to herself from her deceased boss. According to the District Attorney’s office, Mohammed was working as a caretaker for the 73-year-old victim, who lived on West 15th Street in Union Square. Mohammed allegedly deposited a $2,000 check addressed to herself at a Bronx Chase Bank on the same day that the victim passed away.

MAN ARRESTED FOR PURSE-SNATCHING AT EAST 14TH AND THIRD AVENUE
Police arrested 32-year-old Bernard Rivera after he allegedly snatched a woman’s purse at the corner of Third Avenue and East 14th Street last Saturday right after midnight. Rivera was charged with grand larceny possession of stolen property.

MAN ARRESTED FOR MUGGING ON PARK AVENUE SOUTH
Nineteen-year-old Berris McGann was arrested after allegedly mugging a woman at the corner of East 21st Street and Park Avenue South last Wednesday.
Police said that the victim was waiting to cross the street when McGann allegedly forcibly grabbed the victim’s shopping bag, shoving her, and fled north on Park Avenue South. Police searched the area and McGann was arrested shortly after for robbery and possession of stolen property.

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Muggers mace delivery man in ST

Stuy Town

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police are looking for two men involved in the robbery of a delivery man inside the vestibule at 287 Avenue C in Stuyvesant Town last Sunday night around 6 p.m., in which the victim was sprayed with mace and may have broken his ankle.

Deputy Inspector Brendan Timoney said at the 13th Precinct Community Council meeting on Tuesday evening that the suspects attacked the delivery man in the building’s vestibule as he was leaving.

They reportedly identified themselves as police officers and when the victim ignored them and initially tried walking away, one of the suspects sprayed mace in his face. In the ensuing scuffle, the victim fell and police said that he injured his ankle, possible breaking it.

The pair got away with the delivery man’s backpack, but the bag didn’t have any valuables in it.

Timoney noted that the suspects may have believed that the delivery person was a rival drug dealer.

Timoney said that the two men were driving a black BMW and had followed the delivery man to Avenue C from a different location, and they are also suspected in previous robberies taking place in the East Village.

Stuyvesant Town Property Services did not return a request for comment by Town & Village’s press time.

Police Watch: Man breaks EMS worker’s nose, Person assaulted on L train

MAN BREAKS NOSE OF EMS WORKER AT BELLEVUE
Police arrested 27-year-old Jeremy Santiago for allegedly assaulting an EMS worker in front of Bellevue Hospital at 462 First Avenue last Monday at 4:02 a.m. Police said that Santiago acted uncooperative while an EMS worker was trying to get him inside an ambulance and he allegedly behaved erratically by running towards oncoming traffic. Police said that the EMS worker attempted to grab Santiago and pull him out of the road to prevent him from getting hit by a car and in the process he allegedly hit the worker in the face, causing a broken nose.

MAN ARRESTED FOR L TRAIN ASSAULT
Police arrested 24-year-old Curtis McIntosh for allegedly assaulting a fellow straphanger on the L train last Wednesday at 5:45 a.m. Police said that McIntosh punched a passenger in the back of the head on the L train as it was at Union Square/East 14th Street. The district attorney’s office said that McIntosh received a desk appearance ticket for the incident.

MAN ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT AT EAST 16TH AND FIRST
Fifty-year-old David Wilson was arrested for assault at the corner of East 16th Street and First Avenue last Saturday at 9:06 p.m. Witnesses told police that they heard a commotion outside and broken glass, and when they went to check, they saw that Wilson was allegedly on top of the victim, who had sustained a cut on the back of his head. When the victim struck the sidewalk, Wilson allegedly fled. Another witness said he had seen Wilson tackle the victim to the ground. Police searched the area and Wilson was arrested shortly after.

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Man who fatally punched victim in Union Square for being white gets 25 years

Union Square (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

On Tuesday, a black man who attacked three people in Union Square for being white, including one person who died as a result of his injuries, was sentenced to 25 years in a state prison.

The lengthy sentence for LaShawn Marten, 44, was in part due to the fact that the assaults were considered hate crimes.

He was found guilty on July 5, nearly four years after the incidents on September 4, 2013.

That afternoon, Marten, a regular chess player at Union Square Park, had stated he would “knock out” the next white person who passed him. Not long after this, a 62-year-old man, Jeffrey Babbitt, who was white, walked by, and Marten punched him in the face. Babbitt, who got knocked down to the ground from the blow, hit his head hard on the pavement.

Moments later, when a 19-year-old bystander (also white) tried to help Babbit, Marten punched him in the face as well. When a third Good Samaritan, a 47-year-old man tried to help, Marten hit him in the head so hard that he was knocked unconscious.

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Police Watch: Man wanted for robbery, Woman arrested for assault

MEN WANTED FOR KICKING, ROBBING 62-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN ALPHABET CITY
Police are looking for two men who robbed and kicked a 62-year-old woman on East 5th Street between Avenues C and D on Saturday, August 19 around 8 p.m. Police said that the two suspects followed the woman down the street and kicked her, causing her to fall to the ground, and fled with her purse. Police said that the victim sustained bruising and swelling.
The first suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his twenties and was last seen wearing a blue jersey with the number “12” on the front, blue jeans and wore his hat backwards. The second suspect is described as a black man in his twenties who was shirtless and wearing his hat backwards.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).  The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

UPDATE: Police have arrested 16-year-old Ian Williams and a 14-year-old boy in connection with this robbery on Thursday around 12:36 a.m.

Robbery suspects

WOMAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT OF SENIOR IN GRAMERCY
Police arrested 56-year-old Deborah Sanders for an alleged assault in the lobby of 141 East 23rd Street, a residential building for seniors, last Monday at 11:20 a.m. Police said that Sanders got into an argument with a 69-year-old woman over the victim taking photos of her. Sanders then allegedly smacked and punched the victim in the face, causing cuts to her forehead and mouth. Police said that the suspect and victim did not know each other.

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