Booty Benjamin
Something did not look right to the cashier of a deli at 78 Eighth Ave. on Wed., April 22. A customer had just provided a $100 bill as payment for food and beverages just after 9 p.m. that night. Perhaps it was the paper or the lack of telltale watermarks, but the 44-year-old man confronted the counterfeit-toting customer, who subsequently fled.
Police found Ricky Lebron, 28, a block away in front of 49 Seventh Ave. and identified him as the perpetrator. A search revealed another fake Benjamin within his underpants. He was charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony.
Deadly police shooting
A man was fatally shot during a violent struggle with police inside an E. Sixth St. building on Saturday.
On Thurs., April 23, at 6:20 p.m., a woman, 21, was giving a presentation at City College in Harlem when a man interrupted and demanded to see her, according to police. The victim went out into the hallway where the two argued and the suspect punched the woman in the body and face.
The suspect then removed the victim’s purse, containing cash, her keys, cell phone, ID, bank cards and gift cards, and fled.
The victim identified the suspect as a 22-year-old male known to her. Detectives determined he was staying at 538 E. Sixth St.
On Sat., April 25, at 1:48 p.m., two detectives responded to the address. While they approached a sixth-floor apartment, the suspect fled out a window and down the fire escape. The two detectives ran down the stairs and confronted him in the lobby. There, a violent struggle ensued between the suspect and the detectives.
During the five-minute-long fight, the suspect was able to grab a police radio, and began to strike both detectives in the head with it, causing lacerations and abrasions to both of their heads.
During the beating, one detective drew his firearm and fired once, striking the suspect in the torso, police said. EMS responded and transported the suspect to Beth Israel Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The officers were taken to Bellevue Hospital, both with bruising and lacerations to the head and one with a dislocated shoulder. They were listed in stable condition. The suspect’s identity is being withheld pending family notification. The investigation is ongoing.
The Daily News quoted a neighbor describing the E. Sixth St. building as a “halfway house for mentally ill people adjusting to society. It’s been there for 20, 25 years,” the man said. “They treat all kinds of things, including drugs. I’ve never felt scared before. But there’s been some tension.”
Packages perp
The landlord of 175 Thompson St. spied a man opening packages in the building lobby on the morning of Mon., April 27, according to police. Police arrived at about 8 a.m. and found that the suspect, identified as Ty Sumpter, 29, was also in possession of two credit cards belonging to other people. He was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, a felony.
Reservoir rough stuff
A “touchy feely” conversation among three men did not end warmly on Tues., April 21, police said. A 35-year-old man was talking with two other guys at about 1:30 a.m. that day when an argument arose. The two men then attacked the other man in unison. One hit the victim with a glass while his accomplice punched him in the head and face, according to a police report that did not state the nature of the dispute.
Both of the perpetrators fled the Reservoir Bar, at 70 University Place. The victim meanwhile was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he received 12 stitches and five staples to the right side of his head.
Police arrested Edwin Sanchez, 32, about two hours later after he returned to the scene to retrieve his cell phone. He was charged with felony assault. The second suspect, known only as Jose, remains at large.
— Zach Williams and Lincoln Anderson
