Drug-deal shooting
A Lower East Side drug sale that went wrong last weekend ended up with one man shot in the jaw and three men arrested, one of them with a broken arm, police said.
The victim, 37, was sitting in a car in a supermarket parking lot on Pike and Cherry Sts. on Saturday night Aug. 23 with two men, Ronny Alvarez, 20, of Flushing, and Julio Andujar, 26, of 210 Stanton St., when a dispute erupted over a heroin deal and the victim began driving away, police said. With the car in motion, Alvarez, fired the shot into the victim’s jaw, jumped out of the car as it crashed to a stop at Catherine Slip and Cherry St., and got into a waiting car driven by Luis Estevez, 33, police said.
Police caught up with the getaway car and arrested Estevez and Alvarez, who broke his arm jumping out of the first car. Alvarez was charged with attempted murder, weapon possession, assault and drug possession. Charges against Estevez are pending. Andujar was also arrested and charged with drug possession. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, and Alvarez was also treated at Bellevue for the broken arm, police said.
Stabbing investigation
Police are investigating the stabbing of a woman and three men at about 4 a.m. Sun., Aug. 17, at the corner of Fifth Ave. and 21st St. The woman, 23, was stabbed in the hand; one man, 27, was stabbed in the arm and chest, and another man, 24, was stabbed in the arm, police said. A fourth victim, described only as a male, was stabbed in the chest and the abdomen, police said. Police arrested two suspects at the scene but dropped charges against them and are continuing the investigation, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney.
Chain-snatch arrest
Police arrested James Burwell, 45, on Mon., Aug. 18, in connection with a chain snatching two months earlier at Union Square. The suspect is charged with snatching the gold chain from the neck of a woman, 41, as she was walking out of Food Emporium, at 10 Union Square East, around 7:45 p.m. Fri., June 13. Police said the suspect fled into Union Square Park, but the victim phoned 911 with a description. Burwell was arrested at Gouverneur Slip on the Lower East Side. He was being held in lieu of $7,500 bail pending a Sept. 5 court appearance on a larceny charge, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
West Village stabbing
A Bronx man who was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk on Christopher St. near Washington St. on Saturday night Aug. 16 was arrested for slashing a pedestrian, 28, police said. Taleek Boyd, 38, got into an argument about a near collision with the victim, pulled a knife and cut the victim, according to the charges. Boyd was freed on $25,000 bail pending a Feb. 19, 2009, court appearance, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan D.A.
Head-banger rock
Police arrested Jeremy Santiago, 33, and charged him with assault for bashing a man, 28, over the head with a guitar around 10:30 p.m. Fri., Aug. 15, on. W. 14th St. near Eighth Ave. The suspect was hanging out with friends when he made disparaging remarks to a passing couple. The man protested, an argument ensued and Santiago grabbed a guitar from one of his friends and hit the victim over the head with it, according to charges on file with the office of D.A. Robert Morgenthau. The victim sustained a cut requiring six stitches, the charge says. Santiago was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail pending a Sept. 17 court appearance.
Burglary surges
The monthlong increase in the number of burglaries, including car break-ins, continued in the Village’s Sixth Precinct for the week ending Aug. 24, according to New York Police Department crime statistics.
Five burglaries in the West Village precinct were reported for the week this year compared to one burglary during the same week last year. During the 28-day period ending Aug. 24, there were 22 burglaries compared to 10 for the same period last year. For the year-to-date ending Aug. 24, there were 165 burglaries compared to 120 the previous year.
In the Ninth Precinct, which covers the East Village, burglaries declined slightly for the week ending Aug. 24, but robberies were up sharply with seven reported for the week this year compared to two robberies for the same week last year. For the 28-day period, as well as for the year-to-date, robberies in the East Village declined slightly.
Albert Amateau
