A 34-year-old man who was robbed of his phone early Sunday morning was able to access his phone’s camera using his computer and provided the police with a photo of a “person of interest.”

At 4:45 a.m. Sunday morning, the victim passed three other men in the pedestrian tunnel at West 190th Street. One of the men grabbed the victim from behind and covered his eyes, while the others went through his pockets and stole cash and his cell phone. The three suspects fled through the Broadway exit of the tunnel.

The victim went home to call 911 and then accessed his cell phone from his computer using an app installed on his phone. He was able to access the camera and take a photo, which he then provided to the police.

Cops are looking to question the man in the photo, and have asked anyone with information about the robbery or the man pictured to call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). All calls are confidential.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Victim uses app to take photo with stolen phone appeared first on Metro.us.

Following a Daily News report of a Brooklyn narcotics officer receiving a promotion after costing the city more than $1.5 million in settlements, NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly blasted the city for opting for settlements too frequently.

“The city is too willing to settle the case,” Kelly said to the Daily News. “We need a lot more trials and efforts to determine the true facts in many of these allegations.”

Some of the nearly 60 cases involving the narcotics officer involved racial profiling and slurs.

One of the lawsuits involved the beating of a man whose son was watching.

The City Council has been discussing legislation that would great more stringent anti-profiling laws, which opponents say could open up the NYPD to frivolous lawsuits.

In a public safety address to NYPD captains recently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said these lawsuits would result in officers spending time in courtrooms when they could be out on the streets keeping the city safe.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Kelly: city is ‘too willing’ to settle lawsuits against NYPD appeared first on Metro.us.

Three men were indicted today on drug trafficking charges after investigators New York State Police Special Investigations Unit traced a drug trail from a handoff in the Bronx on April 9, to a stash house in Corona, Queens.

The investigation yielded approximately 10 pounds of heroin and nine pounds of crystal meth.

The meth is valued at about $960,000, and that amount of heroin could be sold for more than $1 million on the street.

New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said the drug trafficking ring “poured literally pounds of deadly, illicit drugs into the streets of Queens and beyond.”

A search of the Queens stash house uncovered a ledger pertaining to “ice” transaction, $2,000 hidden inside a vent, and supplies for making meth, including masks, grinders, a kilo-press and a scale.

Investigators believe the meth originated from “megalabs” in Mexico. One of the types of heroin they found os known as “black tar” and apparently comes from Mexico as well.

According to State Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, the bust and seizure are “typical of a pattern” in narcotics investigations throughout the city.

Brennan believes that the presence of meth in the city is an indication that Mexican cartels are trying to “promote the use and addiction to crystal meth” here.

According to the Department of Health, emergency room visited related to meth more than doubled between 2004 and 2011, jumping from 214 to 576.

The post Over $2 million in heroin and crystal meth seized in drug trafficking bust appeared first on Metro.us.

A judge last week ruled that a Newark, N.J., hospital could be liable for the escape of inmate David Goodell, who received treatment there after allegedly faking a seizure and who police said went on to kill 21-year-old Viviana Tulli in Garfield.

Tulli’s sister and estate administrator Estella Tulli-Makowski in September of 2012 filed a suit in Essex County Superior Court against the state of New Jersey, the state Department of Corrections and parole board, the Department of Public Safety, Newark halfway house Logan Hall and its for-profit operator Community Education Centers.

The suit also names the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the UMDNJ-Hospital, where Goodell was treated in 2010 after allegedly faking a seizure at Logan Hall, part of a CEC-operated halfway house system the complaint claims is “horribly mismanaged and has experienced an ‘inordinate’ number of prisoner escapes.”

A federal judge last Monday dismissed the claims against the state defendants, ruling they sufficiently proved they are public entities and therefore can’t be held liable for injuries sustained as a result of inmate escapes.

But the UMDNJ-Hospital could still face penalties for the escape of Goodell, who was on Aug. 29, 2010, escorted to the hospital by an unarmed CEC employee after “faking” a seizure at Logan Hall, where he was transferred in February after pleading guilty two years prior to assaulting his girlfriend and receiving a four-year prison term.

Goodell escaped from the hospital the night of Aug. 29. Tulli was dead within 24 hours.

Police said witnesses in a high school parking lot reported seeing Goodell, disoriented and covered in blood.

When officers arrived, he allegedly jumped into a car – later determined to belong to Tulli – and led police on a chase that only ended when he rammed their cars.

Investigators allegedly found Goodell inside the vehicle bleeding from the wrists due to an apparent suicide attempt.

Tulli’s lifeless body was in the passenger seat.

Prosecutors claim Goodell suffocated Tulli because she rejected his romantic advances, according to court filings.

A Bergen County grand jury in 2011 indicted Goodell for Tulli’s murder.

The post NJ hospital could be liable for inmate’s escape, alleged murder appeared first on Metro.us.

Cops are looking for a man wearing a suit who tried to rob a Midtown bank in broad daylight.

According to police, on Wednesday just after 10 a.m., a man entered the Bank of America on Third Avenue near 54th Street and passed a note demanding cash.

He fled without any money, cops said.

Police described the suspect as male, black, about 20 to 30 years old, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 and about 160 to 180 pounds.

He was last seen in a black suit, white shirt with a tie, brown hat and glasses, they said.

Anyone with info should call 800-577-TIPS.

The post Cops search for suit-wearing Midtown attempted bank robber appeared first on Metro.us.

A Hofstra student and an armed suspect were shot dead early Friday morning during an apparent home invasion.

Police say a man wearing a ski mask forced his way into 213 California Ave. in Uniondale at approximately 2:30 a.m., the New York Post reports. Three women and one man were in the house at the time.

One of the women was allowed to leave the house, and she called 911, Nassau County Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lack said. The shooting that killed the suspect and the student occurred when police arrived at the home. It is not cleared who fired the deadly shots.

Police have not released any identities. The house is located near Hofstra’s campus.

Officials said at a press conference this morning that they suspect the motive was robbery. They said they are investigating and declined to provide further details.

The student killed was Andrea Rebello, 20, according to the Daily News.

The post Hofstra student shot dead during home invasion appeared first on Metro.us.

Many of these men were being monitored by the NYPD due to suspected connections to terrorists, including a top-level Hamas official, according to NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The post 16 indicted in ‘Operation Tobacco Road’ appeared first on Metro.us.

The NYPD, the office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other law enforcement agencies took down several suspects in a “massive scheme” involving a cigarette smuggling ring. The arrested men were reportedly already on the NYPD’s radar for suspected connections to terrorists.

• 
  View Slideshow

  16 indicted in ‘Operation Tobacco Road’

The principal suspects were selling cigarettes untaxed, NYPD Police Commissioner Kelly said, “in a massive raid on the New York Treasuring in the form of cigarette tax avoidance.”

The NYPD had apparently been monitoring the suspects out of concern about the connection some of these men had to a top Hamas official as well as Omar Abdel Rahman, the “Blind Sheik” convicted in a 1995 trial involving a plot to bomb New York City landmarks.

One suspect, Yousef Odeh, reportedly told police he sold 15,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes, with a total value of $780,000. These 15,000 cartons were sold to just three customers.

Odeh also ran a baby formula business. Over a decade ago, Rahman was one of his investors. He also had personal and financial ties to Ahmed Abdel Sattar, who apparently was a spokesman for the Rahman during his trial and transmitted messages to Rahman’s supporters in Egypt and Afghanistan. 

Another suspect arrested yesterday was Muaffaq Askar, reportedly a “confidante” of Rashid Baz. Baz was convicted in the 1994 killing of 16-year-old Ari Halberstam, when he fired on a van full of of Hasidic students on the Brooklyn Bridge. He was sentenced to 141 years. Baz, who was Lebanese, reportedly referred to Askar as his “Palestinian uncle.”

According to the Attorney General’s investigation, the ringleader of the organization was Basel Ramadan of Ocean City, Maryland, who, with his brother Samir, bought cigarettes in Virginia and stored them in Delaware. Several times a week, Adel Abuzarieh would drive from Brooklyn to Delaware with tens of thousands of dollars in cash to purchase cigarettes from the Ramadan brothers. Abuzarieh sometimes carried over $100,000 in one trip.

The Ramadans’ profits from cigarettes alone reportedly totaled some $55 million, in addition to $10 million from other illegal activities, the Attorney General’s office said.

The crime ring also included New York-based distributors and resellers in bodegas throughout the five boroughs. One of the resellers, Mohanned Seif, also sold cigarettes to grocery stores upstate near Albany and Schenectady.

It’s estimated that New York State lost far more than $80 million in tax revenue due to this cigarette smuggling network.

Kelly noted that “it hasn’t been established yet where the illicit proceeds in this case ended up,” but the NYPD is “concerned because similar schemes have been used in the past to help fund terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.”

The federal agencies involved in the bust will continue investigating the money trail.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Cigarette smugglers had connections to Hamas: NYPD appeared first on Metro.us.

An MTA employee and an accomplice have been charged with conspiring and stealing $4,000 in cash from a Queens subway station last week.

Tracy King, 48, who worked at the 111th Street station off the 7 line in Queens, allegedly had her friend duct tape her hands and mouth and steal the cash from the subway booth, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office. She planned to split the money with the robber.

“Instead of being the alleged victim of a gunpoint robbery at her job, the MTA employee charged in this case is accused of staging the purported robbery and splitting the proceeds of the crime with an accomplice,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

King told police that she was working at the station around 11 a.m. last Saturday when a man arrived at the station dressed in a reflective contractor’s vest and asked for the keys to the employees’ break room. Inside the break room, the robber pointed a revolver and a stun gun at King as he placed duct tape on her hands and mouth, King told cops. The man then allegedly went to the ticket booth and took $4,000. King was discovered by other MTA employees who called police to report the robbery.

Police arrested Anthony Brown, 42, after they lifted a fingerprint off a plastic container in the break room. Brown told police that the robbery was King’s idea. He also said he was not armed and that he has known King for about 10 years. Phone records revealed that King and Brown had talked as recently as the day before the robbery.

Cops also recovered $2,334 in cash from inside Brown’s girlfriend’s Queens apartment.

Brown and King face charges of third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, defrauding the government, fifth-degree conspiracy and third-degree falsely reporting an incident. They each face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The post MTA clerk arrested for inside-job robbery appeared first on Metro.us.

Police have arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the murder of a teen girl whose body was found on Gerritsen Beach in January.

Christian Ferdinand allegedly killed Shaniesha Forbes, 14, cops said. The two were in a relationship, and Ferdinand told cops he killed Forbes because he thought she was pregnant, the New York Post reports.

Forbes was not in fact pregnant. Ferdinand allegedly suffocated the Brooklyn teen inside his apartment. He then stuffed her body into a suitcase a few days later, brought it to the beach and set it on fire, the Post reports.

Cops arrested Ferdinand in Maine, where he had fled after the killing.

The post Man arrested for killing of teen girl found on Brooklyn beach appeared first on Metro.us.

The Center for Constitutional Rights slammed the NYPD today over the leak of an internal report from the mayor’s office apparently finding Judge Shira Scheindlin biased against law enforcement.

Scheindlin has a long history of covering stop-and-frisk related cases, and is presiding over a major one currently. The Center of Constitutional Rights is on one side of that case; the NYPD and the City are on the other.

The report was apparently leaked to the New York Daily News. According to the News, the report found that Scheindlin decided against law enforcement in 60 percent of her written opinions on “search-and-seizure” over the course of her nearly two decades on the bench. The study allegedly also says that rate is the highest among 16 current and former Manhattan federal judges that the report included since 1990.

The mayor’s office reportedly declined to comment to the News, but Scheindlin told the News that the study is “completely misleading” as it doesn’t include any rulings from the bench.

While the majority of her written opinions may involve dismissing evidence, she told the News that in “nearly all” of her bench rulings on seized evidence, she has denied motions to suppress.

Early this year, the judge ruled on a case involving stops in some Clean Halls buildings. She ordered that the stops cease, but a short time later rescinded that ruling.

CCR released a statement calling the report “nothing short of outrageous.”

“Having already attacked the Center for Constitutional Rights, communities mobilizing to end violent and discriminatory policing, and the press, the attack on a respected judge scrapes the bottom of the litigation barrel,” the statement read.

CCR recommended that the city instead focus on “studies to remedy the persistent constitutional violations in its police department.”

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to whether the NYPD was responsible for the leak, as CCR’s statement implied.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post CCR: Leak of city memo ‘nothing short of outrageous’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Due to what defense attorneys and the judge characterized as a grammatical misstep by an assistant district attorney to a grand jury, the indictment against NYPD Officer Richard Haste, charged with the shooting death of Bronx teen Ramarley Graham, has been thrown out.

Haste was arraigned last year on manslaughter charges for fatally shooting the 18-year-old. Haste and other officers said they believed Graham had a gun in his waistband when they followed him home and into his apartment.

“It cannot be said more forcefully that we disagree with the court,” the statement read. “As we await the court’s written decision, we will begin the process of weighing which of the options—appeal of the decision or representation to the grand jury—better serve the people of the Bronx.”

Graham was reportedly flushing a small amount of marijuana down the toilet when cops burst in on him and shot him.

The NYPD at the time said that Haste was inadequately trained for the undercover street narcotics assignment he had just been posted to a few months prior.

Graham’s parents and community members gathered outside the Bronx Hall of Justice today to protest the decision.

In a statement, Graham’s father Frank said, “We will keep fighting no matter what. We will never stop until justice is service in this case, until Richard Haste goes to prison for murdering our son.”

The elder Graham noted the options of going back to the grand jury for a second try or taking the case to federal court.

The memo from the DA’s office decrying judge’s decision says that the crux of the issue is a claim of a semantical error — which they say cannot even legitimately be called an error.

The ADA reportedly advised the grand jury not to let their determination of Haste’s guilt — or lack thereof — rest on the “reasonableness” of the claims of the officers who told him they believed Graham had a gun, but rather on the “reasonableness” of Haste’s “conduct,” his decision to shoot Graham. Essentially, even if it seemed reasonable to believe that Graham had a gun, was shooting him in that moment — confronted at close range after bursting into his bathroom — reasonable in itself?

The memo from DA Robert Johnson noted that the ADA’s advice was actually not solely to the benefit of the prosecution.

“The danger existed that, had the Grand Jury found that the officers who made the erroneous communications to be incredible, there would be an adverse spillover effect on the defendant because he relied on misinformation, and that the Grand Jury might find him to be unjustified on this basis alone,” the memo read.

“It would indeed be ironic if an instruction designed to alleviate any prejudice to defendant arising from the testimony before the Grand Jury was read incorrectly to mean the opposite,” Johnson concluded.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Manslaughter indictment dropped in Ramarley Graham case appeared first on Metro.us.

Police have arrested a 44-year-old man who snatched $500 from a toddler’s hand after the child removed the money from his mother’s purse.

Warren Hayes of the Bronx turned himself in on Tuesday, cops said. Hayes allegedly saw a 3-year-old boy remove $500 in cash from his mother’s purse inside a liquor store in Hunt’s Point last Friday. When the child’s mother did not notice, Hayes approached the boy, took the money and fled the store.

He has been charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree.

The post Suspect caught in theft of $500 from toddler appeared first on Metro.us.

Thanks to a Brooklyn lawyer, a scam in the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn has been exposed.

The victims were the Herzog family, the largest kosher winemakers in the world, according to the New York Daily News.

The family was distributing checks to people collecting donations for yeshivas and charities. The checks would be deposited in the U.S., and then the cash would be taken to Israel.

A senior law enforcement official reportedly told the Daily News that if an organization is not a legitimate charity or if other people are receiving any part of the donation, it’s illegal.

The Herzogs closed their account about a year about when they were tipped off that some of the solicitors may have been illegitimate. This resulted in bounced checks, which had those attempting to cash those checks asking questions.

The Herzog family hired a Satmar Hasid in Williamsburg, Elimelech Horowitz, to look into the issue. He was given cash to settle some of the donation claims.

On May 3, Horowitz claimed he was kidnapped then released by masked men demanding $35,000. Soon after, the Herzogs received a threatening phone message urging them to pay the $35,000.

A male voice in the recording reportedly said, “I know where you live; I know where you work; I know where your family lives.”

A private investigator hired by the family set them up with armed security and referred them to George Farkas, a lawyer with experience in the Orthodox Jewish community, including the case of Nechemya Weberman, convicted of sex abuse last year.

Farkas reportedly could immediately tell the abduction story was fraudulent.

The first indication was the caller mispronouncing “Shabbat,” the Jewish day of rest. The recipients of the Herzog money were Jewish, so it was unlikely they would mispronounce a Jewish holy day.

Farkas called Horowitz to his office, and told the Daily News that Horowitz confessed within 20 minutes: There had been no kidnapping, and Horowitz had been pocketing the money he’d been given to settle claims.

“He hired some schmuck on the corner to make the threats,” Farkas told the News.

The Herzog family gave a statement expressing sadness “that we were victimized for no other reason than our charitable generosity.”

But the Herzogs are reportedly not pressing charges because Horowitz promised to pay back the money he extorted.

Another source reportedly told the Daily News there may be other victims scammed by solicitors from Israel who hire drivers to use false sad stories to solicit money from wealthy Jewish families. The checks are subsequently cashed by a yeshiva or charity, the driver gets a cut and the rest is sent back to Israel, according to the Daily News report.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Lawyer exposes scam in Orthodox Jewish community appeared first on Metro.us.

A prostitution and cocaine bust at an Englewood, N.J. senior home last month netted three arrests, among them a 75-year-old man, according to a report from The Record.

Authorities said a recent rise in crime that had residents of the Vincente K. Tibbs Senior Citizen Building living in fear spurred 24/7 police patrols of the complex.

Residents of the building, which is run by the Englewood Housing Authority and serves low-income residents aged 62 and older, were increasingly complaining about drunk and drug-addled strangers wandering the halls and passing out in lounge areas and claimed they were finding used condoms in the recreation room.

An undercover investigation allegedly revealed James Parham, 75, and his neighbor Cheryl Chaney, 66, were using cocaine and running a prostitution ring out of their fifth-floor apartments.

Police said Parham admitting to providing younger neighbors with prostitutes, the majority of them young women with crack cocaine addictions.

Parham and Chaney were arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a drug nuisance.

Chaney was further charged with possessing crack cocaine.

A third resident, Englewood school crossing guard Selma McDuffie, 54, was charged with possessing drug paraphernalia after police said they found a crack pipe.

McDuffie has reportedly been suspended from her job and threatened with arrest if she returns to the senior home.

Parham and Chaney are in the process of being evicted from the complex.

Parham is next due in court on Wednesday, while Chaney and McDuffie are scheduled to appear June 11.

The post 75-year-old among those arrested in N.J. senior home prostitution bust appeared first on Metro.us.

A man who is accused of physically assaulting two people was accidentally shot by police on Sunday night after the suspect barricaded himself inside of an apartment.

Hassan King, 42, allegedly punched a 22-year-old man and struck a 34-year-old woman at approximately 10:40 p.m. during a dispute inside an apartment at 1380 University Ave. in the Bronx. The victims were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.

After the assault, King barricaded himself inside the apartment, and hostage negotiators tried to convince the suspect to surrender for more than two hours, police said.

When cops finally forced the door open, the lead officer accidentally shot King in the wrist when the door swung back and hit the lead officer. King was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.

He is charged with assault, menacing, harassment and obstructing governmental administration.

The post Assault suspect accidentally shot by police in the Bronx appeared first on Metro.us.

Christine Quinn will stand with hate crime survivors, community members and other elected officials at Madison Square Garden today to call for witnesses to last week’s alleged hate crime to come forward.

Last week, a group of men in Midtown Manhattan attacked two men, shouting anti-gay slurs at them and physically assaulting them. The NYPD released video footage of eight men wanted for questioning and asked the public to come forward with any information on the incident.

The incident was the third reported hate crime in Manhattan last week.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Christine Quinn calls for hate crime witnesses to come forward appeared first on Metro.us.

After the release of David Ranta, wrongfully convicted of the murder of a Hasidic rabbi 23 years ago, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office has decided to review 50 murder convictions facilitated by retired NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella.

In a recent exposé, the New York Times dug into Scarcella’s conviction history and discovered that, among other questionable moves, he used the same crack addict as a witness in six separate homicide investigations.

Scarcella is also accused of letting prisoners out of jail to smoke crack cocaine in exchange for testimony fingering Ranta for the murder of Rabbi Chaskell Werzberger, an Auschwitz survivor.

Werzberger was shot by a panicked jewel thief in a robbery gone wrong.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Brooklyn DA to review 50 murder convictions appeared first on Metro.us.

A 21-year-old woman died this morning in a wreck on the Williamsburg Bridge, police said.

According to police, officers responded to 911 calls reporting a crash on the eastbound section of the Williamsburg Bridge about 4 a.m. Monday.

When they arrived, cops found a 21-year-old woman unconscious on the road.

Emergency responders pronounced her dead at the scene.

Police said a 2003 silver Nissan Altima was speeding and overcompensated a turn, hitting a metal divider and causing a rear passenger to be ejected.

The driver, 23, parked nearby, cops said.

Four other people in the car were taken to the hospital.

Charges are pending against the driver, cops said.

The post Woman, 21, killed in crash on Williamsburg Bridge appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are searching for a man who punched an unidentified victim on a Queens-bound 7 train last week.

The suspect punched the passenger about 1 a.m. on May 5 before exiting the train at the 69th Street station, cops said. The man is caught on video as he stands in the middle of the car and swings his arm to punch his victim, who is sitting down.

• 
  View Video

  Subway rider punched in Queens

A witness recorded the assault on a cell phone and shared it with the Central Robbery Queens Transit Squad. The victim of the assault did not report the crime. Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect and locating the victim.

The suspect is described as a white or Hispanic male, about 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, with brown eyes and long black hair worn in a ponytail. He was last seen wearing a dark T-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

The post VIDEO: Suspect punches subway rider in Queens appeared first on Metro.us.

A beautiful spring morning in Ditmars Park in Astoria turned ugly last Tuesday when 54-year-old Zbigniew Pawlowski reportedly armed his two children with two illegally owned BB guns and set them loose in a busy playground.

He first fired a couple of shots at a nearby tree, then handed the weapons to his 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, according to an account from the Queens district attorney’s office.

The city’s Administrative Code requires permits for air rifles or pistols like BB guns. There were no injuries as a result of this incident, but Pawlowski was arraigned on several charges, including resisting arrest and endangering the welfare of a child, the New York Times reported.

The story was first written about on the Queens Mamas blog, and Queens Councilman Peter Vallone linked to the story on his Facebook page, asking constituents to speak up if they recognized the man in a blurry cell phone photo.

“It’s unfortunate this incident escalated,” Vallone said of Pawlowski’s arrest and the ensuing court case. “The gun was extremely realistic which makes it illegal, but instead of turning himself in and getting a wrist slap, he resisted arrest.”

The Queens Mamas story, which has since been removed, complained of a delay in response by the police, and an absence of police near the park generally.

“Everyone wants more cops in the neighborhood, it’s my top priority,” Vallone said, and advised voters “to look at candidates’ positions on more cops in the upcoming elections.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Queens man arrested after letting children use BB gun appeared first on Metro.us.

Thanks to a former prostitute and a worried and resourceful mother in Connecticut, the NYPD rescued a missing 17-year-old girl in East Harlem on Thursday.

The girl’s mother called 911 around 11:27 a.m. on Thursday and told them she suspected her daughter was being held against her will with two other women at 1695 Madison Ave., cops said. She told them she believed her daughter’s abductor was a pimp.

According to a law enforcement source, one of the other women in the apartment wanted to leave, and a former prostitute helped her. The two of them stayed in a motel in Long Island for four days, and then decided to go to the 17-year-old’s mother’s house to tell her where her daughter was. When they told the mother the address, as well as the names of everyone involved, including the pimp, the mother called the FBI office in Connecticut.

The Connecticut FBI office, alarmed for the mother’s safety as she informed them she was already in New York City and headed to the location, advised her to call 911, they said.

When NYPD officers arrived at the Madison Avenue address, the mother and the two other women identified the suspected pimp standing outside the building. 

Officers searched and questioned the suspect, ultimately arresting him. They found the missing girl and two other women, 21 and 24 years old, in an apartment inside the building, cops said.

They also reportedly found the 24-year-old’s two children in the apartment. Police said children were 4 years old and 2 months old.

The suspected pimp was named as 35-year-old Taye Elleby. Police say they determined in interviews with him that he forced at least one of the women into prostitution using intimidation and physical abuse, and kept the proceeds from her activities.

The three victims reportedly told police that Elleby was their pimp and set up “dates” for them through the website Backpage.com, cops said.

A law enforcement source noted that the women all had keys to the apartment and cell phones, and appeared to have had ample opportunity to escape if they wished. Still, while none of the victims appears to have been kept against her will, cops believe intimidation and physical abuse were used to force them into prostitution.

A law enforcement source said the 17-year-old girl was introduced to her abductor by her father.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post NYPD rescues missing teen from East Harlem ‘brothel’ appeared first on Metro.us.

After a tense, 37-hour standoff involving three children, police shot and killed 38-year-old Trenton, N.J. barricade suspect Gerald Tyrone Murphy early Sunday morning, officials announced at a news conference.

“For days, the lives of three children were placed at great risk by the presence of one individual who was their captor, Gerald Tyrone Murphy, age 38,” New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said.

“Today, those children have been rescued from a deadly threat and horrible circumstances at the hands of an armed subject.”

Murphy, who is a registered tier-three sex offender in Pennsylvania, is accused of killing girlfriend Carmelita Stevens, 44, and her 13-year-old son about two weeks ago inside a two-story rental at 250 Grand Street.

“Our preliminary investigation has revealed that the murder of Miss Stevens took place approximately two weeks ago, in addition to the murder of the 13-year-old boy,” Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini said.

Amid the decomposing bodies, Murphy allegedly held hostage three more of Stevens’ children – a 4-year-old boy and two girls, aged 16 and 18 – during a nearly three-day standoff with police that began around 3 p.m. Friday.

“During this whole incident, the welfare of the children who were being held hostage was of paramount concern,” Fuentes said.

“We passed food and bottled water through an upper window, watching and waiting for the best opportunity to end the standoff safely. That opportunity came 37 hours after the first police response, about 3:45 a.m. this morning.”

He said TEAMS – a New Jersey State Police tactical response unit – stormed the home with flash-bang grenades after it became evident Murphy was suffering from ”a deteriorating state of mind” and likely to take further violent action.

“Preliminary information from the investigation now being conducted indicates that following our entry, a single shot was fired by our entry team to stop a threatening action against one of the children by Murphy,” Fuentes said.

Murphy died from his injures at an area hospital.

The three surviving children were rescued and were on Sunday being evaluated at a local hospital.

“There are also allegations that the 18 and 16-year-old girls were abused and assaulted during the time they were held hostage,” Bocchini said.

The children, who were not fathered by Murphy, will be evaluated by state child protective services and placed with a family member.

Trenton Police Department officers responding to the initial call on Friday rescued Stevens’ oldest son, 19, who was found hiding inside the basement.

The teen told police he had not seen his mother or sisters since April 24.

“I would say we have every reason to believe that the kids were in the room and that they were possibly restrained during that period of time,” Bocchini said.

Ignition

The barricade touched off Friday afternoon when Trenton police officers responded to the home Stevens rented on Grant Street to conduct a welfare check.

“Police further received additional information from another family member that Stevens’ two daughters had not been to school in 12 days,” Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera, Jr. said.

“When officers did not receive a response at the door and, fearing for the safety of the family, they made a forced entry into the home through a rear door and immediately smelled an odor consistent with a decomposing body. The officers also noticed maggots throughout the residence.”

He said police heard a man’s voice coming from behind the closed door of a second-floor front bedroom.

The man, later identified as Murphy, allegedly told police there was a dead person with him in the room, as well as a second body in a rear bedroom.

Officers forced their way into the rear bedroom, where investigators said they found a corpse “in an advanced stage of decomposition,” confirming Murphy’s claim.

Murphy then told police he had barricaded three children with him inside the 10-foot-by-11-foot front bedroom.

He also allegedly said he was armed with a handgun and explosives.

Police secured the residence and retreated after recovering Stevens’ oldest son.

“Our hostage negotiators maintained contact with Murphy throughout the event and our TEAMS members took up tactical positions from which they could move in quickly when needed,” Fuentes said.

Rap sheet

Murphy amassed what Bocchini called “an extensive record involving violence,” spending several stretches in Philadelphia prisons since the early 1990s on charges including aggravated assault, theft and firearms offenses.

“He has convictions for aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy,” Bocchini said.

“He has also been arrested for robbery and weapons offenses, as well as child endangerment.”

Murphy served his longest jail term in Philadelphia after pleading guilty in 2001 to sexual assault, for which he was sentenced to four to ten years’ confinement.

“Murphy, also known as ‘Skip,’ was found to have an arrest warrant out of Pennsylvania for failing to register as a sex offender,” Bocchini said.

Online sex offender registry records list Murphy’s address as of January 2011 as the Ridge Avenue Men’s Shelter in Philadelphia.

Authorities continue to investigate the protracted, complex crime, which now encompasses a police-involved shooting, as well as two homicides and a barricade situation.

The post Gerald Tyrone Murphy: Police kill barricade suspect, find two bodies appeared first on Metro.us.

A 27-year-old Long Island City man has been arrested after he went on an armed carjacking spree Thursday morning in his own neighborhood.

Nicholas Almonte is accused of first carjacking a black 2006 Mercedes from a woman at gunpoint at about 9:40 a.m. on Borden Avenue between 21st and 23rd streets, cops said. Almonte drove around with the victim in the car for a few minutes before she was able to flee in the vicinity of Queens Plaza near Thompson Avenue and Van Dam Street.

Almonte then reportedly ditched the Mercedes and attempted to steal a white 2006 Ford Econoline van. When he was unsuccessful, the robber targeted a man with a gray 2007 Lexus. The suspect allegedly took out a gun and forcibly took the Lexus at approximately 10 a.m., cops said. The car was recovered a short time later.

Just a few minutes later, Almonte was apparently back on foot and he allegedly tried to forcibly remove car keys from a woman who was walking her dog. He fled after she told him she did not have any car keys.

Cops say that at approximately 10:20 a.m., the same suspect approached a truck driver near 38th Street and Hunters Point Avenue. Holding the victim at gunpoint, he took an unknown amount of cash and then fled on foot.

The spree ended about 10 minutes later when Almonte approached a man with a gold 1996 Mercedes at gunpoint and drove off in the victim’s car.

Almonte has been charged with multiple counts of robbery, attempted robbery and unlawful imprisonment.

The post Man arrested for Queens carjacking spree appeared first on Metro.us.

The NYPD is partnering with the Seal Beach Police Department in a joint investigation to track down a man who is suspected of scamming an 86-year-old widow in Seal Beach, California out of $30,000.

• 
  View Slideshow

  Man suspected of scamming grandmother out of $30,000

On February 18, 2013, the suspect called the elderly victim claiming to be her grandson “Randy.” The caller told her that he was in a Mexican jail and needed money in order to be released.

Cops said the caller, pretending to be the victim’s grandson, asked her to send $15,000 in cash to an address in New York City, addressed to Matthew Jones.

The victim sent the cash the next day. The following day, she received another call from the same person asking for an additional $15,000 addressed to Matthew Jones at the same address. The grandmother, afraid for her grandson’s safety, sent the money that day, cops said.

The address was later identified as a FedEx business office in a Sheraton Hotel downtown. Cops say the suspect used a fake Canadian driver’s license to pick up the packages from the FedEx. 

The suspect, as seen in photos provided by the Seal Beach Police Department and the NYPD, is described as a white man, medium to heavy build, who looks to be in his mid to late 30s. In surveillance photos and the photo on the fake driver’s license, he appears to have a very distinctive goatee braided into two plaits, known as a “sparrow” style beard, cops said.

Anyone with information about the man pictured in the surveillance photos from the FedEx is asked to call or e-mail Seal Beach Police Detective Mary Martinez at 562-799-4100 extension 1110 or mmartinez@sealbeachca.gov.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post East and west coast cops partner to nab scam artist appeared first on Metro.us.

The Seal Beach Police Department and the NYPD identified the man in these surveillance photos as the suspect who cops say scammed an 86-year-old widowed grandmother out of $30,000 by convincing her that her grandson was in danger.

These photos are from a FedEx center in a downtown Sheraton Hotel. The suspect told the grandmother to send the money to that location, addressed to Matthews Jones.

Anyone with information about the man pictured in the surveillance photos from the FedEx is asked to call or e-mail Seal Beach Police Detective Mary Martinez at 562-799-4100 extension 1110 or mmartinez@sealbeachca.gov.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Man suspected of scamming grandmother out of $30,000 appeared first on Metro.us.

Two brothers possessing drugs and 130 tubes of testosterone gel shot a man in the leg in Bay Ridge, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

The victim, 34, walked into an eatery at 7:45 p.m. on April 24 when the Daily News said the younger brother, Taylor Noonan, 18, shoved him.

The ensuing argument brought Taylor’s brother Patrick, 21, into the fray with his gun, according to the newspaper.

Police told the Daily News they chased the boys to their apartment and arrested them for assault, narcotics and weapons charges.

The post Brothers shot man in roid rage: report appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are searching for a 21-year-old man wanted in the rape and robbery of a woman at gunpoint in a Brooklyn park last year. 

The attack occurred almost a year ago on May 29, 2012. Police were recently able to identify Damien Hollis as a suspect thanks to a positive DNA hit.

Cops say Hollis approached a 26-year-old woman early on the morning of May 29, 2012, at a bus stop located at East New York and Ralph avenues. He brandished a firearm and ordered her to walk to Lincoln Terrace Park, where he raped her. He then took the victim’s cell phone and fled.

Hollis is described as about 6 feet tall and 160 lbs. with short black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

Danielle Tcholakian contributed reporting to this article.

The post Man wanted for armed rape, robbery in Brooklyn appeared first on Metro.us.

Police have released a video of eight men they are looking to speak with about a possible bias attack Sunday evening that left one man with a broken nose and another with a bruised hand. 

• 
  View Video

  Eight sought in Midtown bias attack

A group of men approached two men in front of a McDonald’s on Eighth Avenue near Madison Square Garden at around 6:45 p.m. and shouted anti-gay remarks at them, cops said. The suspects then pushed the victims to the ground and punched one of them in the face.

Police released a photo of one of the suspects Tuesday. They released a new video Wednesday showing the same suspect walking with seven other men. Detectives are looking to speak with the men in the video regarding the incident. 

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

The post VIDEO: Cops seek eight men in Midtown bias attack appeared first on Metro.us.

Cops are looking for a man who took $500 from a child’s hand.

According to police, on Friday shortly before 11 a.m., a woman, 43, was inside a liquor store on East 163rd Street when her 3-year-old son took $500 out of her jacket pocket.

The mother did not realize this happened, cops said, but the suspect saw and took the money from the kid’s hand. He then fled the store.

Cops described the man as a dark-skinned male in his early 30s, 5-foot-9 and about 240 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call 800-577-TIPS.

The post Man wanted for robbery after swiping $500 from tot’s hand appeared first on Metro.us.