Assault on officers
Two men and a woman were arrested early Sat., Jan. 20, for attacking two off-duty policemen in the wake of a 4 a.m. accident on 10th Ave. at W. 28th St. when the officers’ car rear-ended the car with the three suspects.
Lamont Lafducade, 33, and Durvell Williams, 21, both of Brooklyn, and Thelma Lopez, 28, of the Bronx, were charged with assault. Lafducade was also charged with driving while intoxicated. The three were also charged with possession of a weapon after a switchblade knife was found in their car.
Police said Richard Lomax, 29, an off-duty officer assigned to the Bronx, and his friend Robert DeFazio, 21, off duty from his Brooklyn precinct, got out of their car after the rear-end collision and were attacked by the three suspects. Lomax fell, hit his head on the pavement and was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in critical condition. It was later said that he would survive. DeFazio was treated at St. Vincent’s and released.
Police said Lafducade completed a 10-year prison sentence for robbery last year. Williams had previous arrests for attempted murder and weapons possession. Lopez was recently charged with marijuana possession and disorderly conduct.
Tenth Precinct police who cover the West Chelsea club neighborhood made the arrests.
Jane St. car bandits
The four wheels were stolen off a car parked in front of 44 Jane St. near Hudson St. on Thurs., Jan. 18, and a car parked in front of 22 Jane St. between Greenwich Ave. and W. Fourth St. was burglarized on Sun., Jan. 23, police said.
D.W.I. and disorderly
Police arrested a driver, John Lockwood, 36, after he got into a two-car accident at W. Third St. and Sixth Ave. at 11:41 p.m. Fri., Jan. 19, and charged him with driving while intoxicated. Lockwood was identified as a Department of Education employee. A few minutes earlier, police arrested Rob A. Plage, 53, for disorderly conduct, after stopping him for carrying an open alcoholic beverage container as he was walking on Sixth Ave. at W. Fourth St. Police identified Plage as an investigator for the Department of Education’s personnel office. Plage was found to have a warrant for his arrest on a previous violation, police said.
Albert Amateau
