Hold teen suspects
Family Court Judge Robert Stolz on April 17 refused to release the four teenagers charged with murder and attempted robbery in connection with the death of Broderick John Hehman, the New York University junior who was struck by a car on 125th St. at Park Ave. on April 1 while fleeing his pursuers.
Judge Stolz decided to hold the four after Assistant District Attorney Laurie Smith told him that one of the defendants told police he didn’t do robberies for money but for entertainment.
The defendants, Clarence Hassan Mayfield and Andre Johnson, both 15, and Humberto Guzman and Denzell Fell, both 13, have pleaded not guilty to felony murder, criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter, attempted robbery and gang assault.
Ninth St. graffiti
Graffiti vandals hit the building at 30 W. Ninth St. on the night of April 15, prompting worries of further depredations as the warm weather approaches. One resident said the block, not from the PATH train station, was especially vulnerable because early morning police foot patrols on the block had been discontinued on weekends since the general reduction by attrition in Police Department numbers last year.
The staffing level at the Sixth Precinct covering the Village has been a concern of W. 9th St. Block Association members and City Councilmember Christine Quinn since last year. In response to pleas by local elected officials, eight new officers were added to the precinct in October but the numbers are still 40 percent below the highest level a number of years ago.
Detective Mike Singer, Sixth Precinct Community Affairs officer, said that while the early morning weekend foot patrol on W. 9th St. was discontinued, foot patrols continue during high traffic hours from Thursday through Saturday nights on nearby blocks, including Christopher, Bleecker and MacDougal Sts. and at Seventh Ave. and Grove St. and at Sheridan Square.
Albert Amateau
