Fatal stabber pleads guilty
A man charged with fatally stabbing a patient at a Lower East Side treatment center in 2011 has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, a district attorney spokesperson said.
Charles Meredith, 48, pleaded guilty on Nov. 25, and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 15.
Around 3:20 a.m. on May 11, 2011, Meredith got into an argument with Stewart Rhodes, 50, who was being treated for mental illness at Stanton House, located at 190 Stanton St., according to police reports. Meredith then picked up a kitchen knife and plunged it several times into the torso of Rhodes, who was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital. Meredith had been a patient at the treatment center before the attack, and was reportedly once Rhodes’s roommate.
Gunpoint robbery
Police are searching for two suspects who robbed a South Village liquor store at gunpoint on the night of Sat., Nov. 23.
The two unidentified men walked into Thompson Wine and Spirits, at 222 Thompson St., around 10:20 p.m., pulled out a gun and demanded cash, police said. The store’s employee handed over the money, after which the robbers fled the scene. No injuries were reported.
Meatpacking mayhem
Police arrested James Degivenchy, 50, on Nov. 23 after he allegedly attacked a New York Police Department sergeant because he was angry that his car was being towed.
Around 2 a.m., a traffic cop was in the process of towing Degivenchy’s illegally parked vehicle on W. 13th St., between Washington St. and Ninth Ave., when the driver returned to the scene. Degivenchy reportedly became irate and jumped into his car, continuing to sit inside it even while it was lifted up onto the tow truck, police said.
Degivenchy at first refused to get out of the car, even after the police sergeant arrived and instructed him multiple times to do so. When he finally did get out, the angry driver reportedly stood on the back of the tow truck and got into a fighting position, prompting the sergeant to take out his taser, police said.
When Degivenchy continued to be aggressive after coming down from the truck, the sergeant used the taser on him, but the man was apparently unfazed by the electric shock and punched the sergeant in the face, police said. The sergeant was eventually able to pepper-spray Degivenchy, and, with the help of officers who arrived to provide backup, he was finally subdued.
On top of that, the alleged attacker’s wife, Gina Degivenchy, 46, tried unsuccessfully to stop the officers from arresting her husband once he had been apprehended, police said.
James Degivenchy was charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer, as well as resisting arrest. His wife was also arrested and charged with obstructing government administration.
Gansevoort groper
A man was busted for groping two women at the Hotel Gansevoort on Fri., Nov. 22, police said.
Jaime Crespo, 31, was reportedly standing outside a bathroom in the hotel, at 18 Ninth Ave., around 3:15 p.m., when, according to a 32-year-old woman, he grabbed her genital area as she was walking by. A 28-year-old woman said that, moments later, Crespo grabbed her breast as she was walking toward the bathroom.
By the time those incidents were reported and police had arrived, the alleged perv was also spotted banging on a metal door inside the hotel, causing some damage to it. Crespo was charged with forcible touching, sexual abuse and criminal mischief.
Beer brings on knife bust
Police arrested Kevin Willis, 51, on Nov. 22 after he was caught carrying an illegal knife while strolling down the sidewalk.
Willis was spotted by officers around 7:30 p.m. near the corner of W. 14th St. and Eighth Ave., and was stopped and searched because he was reportedly drinking an open can of beer. He was then found to be carrying a gravity knife in his front pants pocket, police said.
Willis was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
Teen tagger gets tagged
A teenage graffiti artist was caught tagging the wall of the subway station at 14th St. and Sixth Ave. on Nov. 23, police said.
Officers spotted the 17-year-old on the Uptown side of the B/D/F/M station around 12:30 p.m., as he was writing “Ramer,” apparently his nickname, on the wall with a white permanent marker. After interrupting the teen’s work, the officers also found that he was carrying a fake Virginia driver’s license.
The teen was charged with forgery and making graffiti.
— Sam Spokony
