Rape-attempt arrest
Police last Friday arrested a suspect in an attempted Lower East Side rape two months ago.
On April 23, at 3:20 a.m., according to police, a 24-year-old woman entered the elevator to her building, in the vicinity of Stanton and Pitt Sts., when a young man followed her inside. When the elevator reached her floor, the man began to grope her as the door opened and pushed her against the wall before fondling her. He followed the victim to her apartment, but fled when a male from inside came to the door.
Based on a tip, Gabriel Bulina, 18, was arrested at his home on Staten Island and charged with attempted rape, sexually motivated burglary, sex abuse and forcible touching.
E. 9th sex assault
According to a resident of a building on E. Ninth St. between Avenues C and D, this past Saturday night around 6:30 p.m., a man posing as a deliveryman grabbed a woman’s crotch from behind as she was walking up the building’s stairs.
“She screamed and turned and saw him and then a neighbor came out of his apartment door and the man fled,” the source told The Villager.
The suspect was described as a young Hispanic man.
On Tuesday, residents reportedly found that their front-door lock was broken and that a latch on a second entry door in the vestibule had been tampered with.
Negatively 4th St.
On Wed., May 11, at 3:35 a.m., a man was allegedly assaulted on the southwest corner of W. Fourth and Grove Sts. The 24-year-old victim told police that a man punched him in the head with a closed fist.
Manuel Perez, 24 was arrested for misdemeanor assault.
Taco Bell bike swipe
The Taco Bell at 18 E. 14th St. was the scene of a robbery on the afternoon of Tues., May 10, police said. At 2:20 p.m., the victim stated that his bicycle was filched from the vestibule of the Taco Bell. He then followed the alleged cycle swiper and awaited the arrival of police. The bike is valued at $1,100.
Police arrested Joey Santiago, 32, for felony grand larceny.
Officer impersonators
Police said that on Sun., March 20, around 5 p.m. a 29-year-old Lower East Side man was exiting his residence in the Baruch Houses on Baruch Drive when two men stopped him in the lobby and identified themselves as police officers.
One of the individuals proceeded to mace the victim while the other punched him. The individuals removed his Metro PCS cell phone, as well as about $100 in cash and a credit card and fled into 72 Baruch Drive.
EMS responded but the victim was not transported to the hospital. The suspects are described as Hispanic males.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
Creep-accino
A woman was forcibly touched by a man inside of a Starbucks at 72 Grove St., according to cops. The woman asked for two cups of coffee at around 4:45 a.m. on Tues., May 10, when a stranger approached her and suddenly grabbed her crotch, she said.
Robert Kleinman, 57, was arrested for misdemeanor forcible touching.
Cop bopped in face
A police officer responded to a report of a fight at University Place and E. 13th St. on Sat., May 14, at 1:24 a.m. When the officer attempted to break up the fight, though, a man struck him in the face, causing bruising, swelling and substantial pain to the right side of his face.
The police officer was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital for treatment. Jesse Mangano, 18, was arrested for felony assault.
Dangerous game
According to police, on Sun., May 5, at 11:10 p.m., an 18-year-old man had a verbal dispute with another man, around age 30, while inside 39 Eldridge St. over a broken gaming machine.
The older man then pushed the younger one to the wall face first and then stabbed him in the lower torso with an unknown object.
The victim’s friend, 20, tried to intervene and the attacker then slashed him in the left arm with the weapon. The assailant then fled the location in an unknown direction.
The victims were treated for their injuries at Bellevue Hospital and released.
The suspect, described as an Asian man, was last seen wearing a green shirt and a yellow jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline.
— Emily Siegel and Lincoln Anderson
