Park bench rape A woman, 19, was raped around 11:30 a.m. Mon., March 29, while she was sleeping on a bench in the northeastern corner of Seravalli Park, at Hudson and Gansevoort Sts., police said. Anthony Torres, 19, a resident of 309 W. 14th St., near the scene of the incident, was charged with first-degree rape and criminal sexual act on a helpless victim. The victim, who was found lying on the ground by police, was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. The suspect is in jail pending a Fri., April 9, court appearance, said a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney. Another suspect who had been held for questioning was released after police determined he had nothing to do with the incident.
Arrest in subway stab deaths
Brenddy Garcia, 19, of Brooklyn was charged with second-degree murder for stabbing two men to death and injuring another man on a No. 2 train running on a local track at the Christopher St. station during the early hours of Sun., March 28. The suspect pleaded not guilty on April 1 and was being held pending a Fri., April 9, court appearance.
Garcia, who was arrested Thurs., April 1, told police the victims were in a group of men that harassed him and two friends on the train between 14th and Christopher Sts. Garcia was charged with stabbing Darnell Morel and Ricardo Williams, both 24, from Brooklyn, who were taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival. A third victim, identified as Marc Joseph, was also taken to the hospital with arm and neck stab wounds, treated and released.
Garcia’s friends told police that someone in the group threw a bag of trash, which contained a beer bottle that hit Garcia, who responded by pulling his knife and swinging, according to reports.
Garcia’s group fled from the train at Christopher St., and the victims were removed at the Houston St. station. There are no M.T.A. surveillance cameras at the Christopher St. station, but police viewed tapes from nearby stores and also reportedly were interested in tapes from 1 Sheridan Square. The Transit Authority came under criticism for not having a camera or an attendant at the booth at Christopher St.
Dushyant Patel, who works at Village Cigars — which has a streaming, movable Web cam, which doesn’t record — told The Villager that police had told him they believed the suspect had run east toward W. Fourth St., which was why they wanted to see the video from 1 Sheridan Square.
Thompson St. fire
A smoky fire reported at 12:13 a.m. Mon., April 5, in Thompson Chemists, brought firefighters to the five-story brick building at 137 Thompson St. three minutes later, a Fire Department spokesperson said. Sixty firefighters from 12 companies responded to the call. Ian Dutton, a neighbor, said, “It was sobering to see our neighbors out on the street in their bathrobes, some clutching animal carriers that they grabbed before leaving the building.” There were no injuries and residents returned to their apartments after the fire was declared under control, a Fire Department spokesperson said.
Burglary series
Police are seeking Mark Perkins, 49, a suspect in a series of 13 burglaries in Soho, the Village, Chinatown, Chelsea and Midtown between Aug. 7 and March 14.
Perkins is a suspect in the March 14 burglary of the Marc Jacobs International boutique, at 298 W. Fourth St.; the Feb. 24 burglary of the Solstice Sunglasses shop, at 107 Spring St.; and the burglary of Dolce & Gabbana, 434 Broadway, also on Feb. 24. He is also a suspect in the Jan. 28 burglary of the Marc by Marc Jacobs shop, at 403 Bleecker St.; the Dec. 7 burglary of Second Unlimited Jeans, 61 W. 23rd St.; and the Dec. 3 burglary of Penang Restaurant, 41 Elisabeth St. He hit the Michael Kors boutique, at 101 Prince St., three times, on Nov. 26, Oct. 23 and Aug. 7, police said.
Anyone with information on Perkins’s whereabouts should contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-8477 (TIPS) or www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577.
Bobst bobble
A security guard chased a man who snatched a laptop computer and two wallets from people in New York University’s Bobst Library around 4 p.m. Thurs., March 25, and caught up with him when he crashed into the transparent plastic turnstile. Israel Davilla, 43, was charged grand larceny and also with criminal mischief for breaking the turnstile, police said.
Wicked beating
Police arrested Dmitry Vlasov, 23, around 1:10 a.m. Sat., March 27, and charged him with assault for punching a woman and her boyfriend in Wicked Willy’s bar, 149 Bleecker St. The suspect, a Brooklyn resident, was paroled pending a May 5 court appearance.
Gang of four
Four muggers followed a Brooklyn man as he walked on Grove St. and attacked him at the southeast corner of Grove and Bedford Sts. around 2:55 a.m. Sat., April 3, police said. They knocked the victim, 55, to the ground, kicked him, took $400 and his keys and fled. The suspects were described only as white males.
Resisted arrest
A man whom police were arresting at 10:30 p.m. Mon., April 5, for punching a victim on the southeast corner of Greenwich Ave. and Seventh Ave. South turned and punched the arresting officer and flailed his arms to avoid being handcuffed, police said. Christian Buffa, 31, was charged with assaulting a police officer and criminal possession of a knife.
Rage in Soho
A woman, 22, who lives on Sullivan St. near Prince St., told police that her boyfriend became so angry during an argument with her in her apartment on Thurs., April 1, at 3 a.m. that he punched her, snatched her sunglasses and iPod and fled with them.
Stole uncle’s safe
Police arrested Thomas Bonilla, 16, and Jonathan Rivera, 22, for conspiring in the break-in of the Vladeck Houses apartment of Bonilla’s uncle, at 675 Water St., on Wed., March 31, and the theft of a safe with thousands of dollars in bonds and other property. Bonilla made an appointment with his uncle to go out, and both left the apartment early in the evening, allowing Rivera to break in and make off with the safe, according to the charges filed by Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance Jr. Both suspects, Brooklyn residents, were charged with grand larceny.
Cyclists settle suits
The city last month awarded two bicycle activists $20,001 each plus court costs to settle a wrongful-arrest suit filed in connection with their May 30, 2007, arrest while they were protesting and videotaping police removing bicycles locked to poles and bike racks on E. Sixth St. near First Ave.
Robert Carnevale, of 335 E. Sixth St., and Carole Dale, of Edison, N.J., filed their federal court wrongful-arrest suit in November 2008, alleging that the police detail led by Lieutenant John Corcoran violated their constitutional rights in the wrongful nighttime arrest. The two defendants spent 22 hours in the criminal justice system, but the charges against them were dismissed.
Also last month, the city paid a total of $97,751 to settle a federal wrongful-arrest lawsuit filed by five cyclists in connection with the March 2007 Critical Mass ride after it left Union Square. A police sergeant pushed Richard Vazquez off his bicycle and arrested him during the ride. Joyce Lin was arrested while taking a photo of Vazquez’s arrest. Christian Gutierrez was also arrested while videotaping the arrest. Caroline Sampanaro was detained but not charged for videotaping Vazquez’s arrest, and Jordan Groh was arrested while taking photos of pedicab operators getting summonses during the ride. Charges against all were dismissed.
Albert Amateau
