Relentless harassment
A brute who was arrested on Aug. 17 for domestic violence, started making threatening phone calls later that day to his ex-girlfriend from jail, according to police. The victim was having dinner with her sister at Spice restaurant, located at 39 E. 13th St., when she started receiving the calls. The man allegedly threatened to kill her if she did not drop the charges against him. The woman, who already had a temporary order of protection against her ex-boyfriend, feared for her life, according to authorities.
Police re-arrested the man, David Rodriguez, 22, and charged him with felony intimidation of a victim.
Nightmare in front of N.Y.U.
Two punks allegedly picked a fight with a man they found napping at 5 a.m. on Aug. 18 in front of N.Y.U.’s Helen and Martin Kimmel Center. One of the attackers allegedly smashed a chair over the less-than-vigilant victim while the other threatened him with a knife, police say.
Cops picked up the man accused of wielding the chair, Josue Espinoza Cortes, 23, and charged him with felony assault. The second suspect fled in an unknown direction and is still on the loose. The victim described the attacker as a man with straight hair and a blotchy complexion.
Squirrelly assailant
A wily young man led a police officer on a midnight foot chase through the Meatpacking District on Aug. 18 after allegedly beating another man bloody at the corner of W. 14th St. and Ninth Ave. Authorities say that after the victim pointed out his attacker, the officer shouted: “Police! Don’t move!” Instead, the suspect bolted and tried to weasel out of the officer’s grasp when he was nabbed after a brief pursuit.
Police charged the runaway renegade, Benjamin Howard, 27, with misdemeanor assault. The victim suffered a cut and bruises on his face, according to the N.Y.P.D.
‘I’m gonna kill you’
Officers arrested a man who allegedly pretended to have a gun while threatening another man’s life at the corner of Washington St. and Little W. 12th Street on Aug. 20. The victim told authorities he left work at 1:40 a.m. when the suspect approached him, motioned as if he had a gun and said “I’m gonna kill you tonight.” When officers arrested the menace, they found him with a gravity knife and untaxed cigarettes.
Authorities charged Amadou Soukouna, 46, who has previous convictions, with felony criminal possession of a weapon.
— Emily Siegel
