Fatal Village fire
A 79-year-old man died in a fire that started around 9 a.m. in his apartment at the Butterfield House, at 20 W. 13th St., on Fri., May 5. Firefighters who responded to the scene and put out the 10th-floor blaze found Leon Gold unconscious and unresponsive. E.M.S. medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Gold’s wife was reportedly also in the home at the time of the fire, and refused medical attention.
According to news reports, it took firefighters about 40 minutes to get the conflagration under control.
Fire officials reportedly do not consider the blaze suspicious. According to the Daily News, it’s believed the inferno was sparked by a candle in the bedroom, which is where Gold was found. The flames did not spread beyond the apartment.
The News reported that Gold was a senior partner at the white-shoe law firm Proskauer Rose, formerly serving as the head of its litigation department. Gold handled major cases, including involving digital copyright.
Teen ‘takeout’ try
A gun-toting 17-year-old tried to stick up the North Village Deli, at the southeast corner of W. 14th St. and Eighth Ave., on Tues., May 2, at 1:30 a.m., police said.
Cops said the teen walked into the location, at 78 Eighth Ave., demanded money, showed a handgun and said, “Get the money or I’ll shoot you.”
When the employee, 53, behind the counter refused to fork over cash, the suspect went behind the counter and tried to remove the register. But the worker wrestled the suspect to the ground and held him until police arrived.
Gustavo W. Gonzalez, 17, was arrested for felony robbery.
East River ‘floater’
Police responded to a call of a body floating in the East River near E. 14th St. on Sun., May 7, around 2:35 p.m. Police from the SCUBA Unit took the body from a police Marine Unit that had recovered it from the water, and then transported it to the E. 23rd St. marina, where the victim was declared dead by E.M.S. However, the body was badly decomposed, apparently from having been in the river awhile, according to news reports.
As of Wednesday, the name and age of the deceased were still being withheld pending family notification, and the investigation is continuing. In addition, the victim’s sex is not 100 percent certain, again due to the corpse’s deteriorated condition.
“Believed to be male,” a police spokesperson told The Villager, adding that it’s not definite.
The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
Face the music
A woman was arrested for slashing a man in the face with her fingernails at Le Poisson Rouge music club, at 158 Bleecker St., on Sat., May 6, police said. She scratched the man, 40, on the left side of the face around 2:50 a.m., causing pain and red swelling. Police did not give a motive.
Seo H. Park, 28, was busted for misdemeanor assault.
Pocketbook perp
An officer spotted a man climbing into a locked, gated area at 109 MacDougal St. at 2:45 a.m. on Sat., May 6, police said. While the suspect was in the gated area, the officer saw him removing property from a pocketbook that he already had in his possession. The bag’s owner, a 28-year-old woman, told police that the satchel was stolen from the above location.
Dante M. Stevenson, 32, was charged with felony grand larceny.
Tabia Robinson
and Lincoln Anderson
