L.E.S. killing
Police were seeking three suspects in the death on Sat., March 20 of Sandy Thelamy, 30, found outside of the Edison parking garage on Essex St. just south of E. Houston St. The victim was taken in a coma to Bellevue Hospital where he was declared dead on Tuesday morning March 30. Witnesses said that a rowdy crowd was at the scene shortly before police arrived. The three suspects, described as black men between 5’6” and 6’ tall, were recorded on a surveillance tape at the scene, according to press reports. The Medical Examiner’s office is investigating the cause of death. Anyone with information is asked to phone CrimeStoppers at 800:577-8477 (TIPS). Calls are confidential.
Suspicious death
Police responded to a 12:43 a.m. call to 549 FDR Dr. in the Baruch Houses on March 27. and found Nancy Cruz, 39, unconscious and not breathing with head wounds in her fifth floor apartment. An Emergency Medical Service team pronounced Cruz dead at the scene. Police were investigating the death, which they said was suspicious. The Medical Examiner’s office was investigating the cause of death.
Coyote capture
A coyote’s two-day jaunt through Lower Manhattan ended last Thursday morning when dozens of police officers cornered the scared animal in a Tribeca parking lot.
The coyote, a 1-year-old female weighing about 30 pounds, had been spotted the day before near the Holland Tunnel and in Battery Park City, according to press reports. On Thursday morning, the coyote appeared on the West Side Highway, stopping traffic and attracting the attention of a police helicopter. The coyote took refuge under a car in a parking lot at Canal and Watts Sts., but police followed her there.
A well-placed tranquilizer shot ended the standoff, and police carted the sedated coyote off to Animal Care and Control. She will be released in the wild.
No jail for ex-hack
A former cabbie confessed Monday to killing a Pace University student in an out-of-control ride on the West Side Highway — after skipping his seizure medication — the Daily News reported.
In exchange for a no-jail deal, Hassan Afzal admitted to a single count of criminally negligent homicide in the crash that killed Danielle Ricco, 21, in June 2006.
Prosecutors asked if he had stopped taking his medication and lied about a history of seizures when he applied for a state driver’s license and later a hack license — and if he was aware of the risks. Afzal answered yes to the questions.
He could have faced four years in prison if convicted at trial. Afzal also admitted to three misdemeanor assault counts for injuries to three others with Ricco — Pace students Amy Vallarelli and Enza Sallustio and her sister, Anna.
— Albert Amateau, Lincoln Anderson and Julie Shapiro
