Graffiti great grope
As previously reported by The Villager on Aug. 4, Angel Ortiz a.k.a. Keith Haring collaborator “LA II” is in trouble with the law for a scary meltdown on the street on June 28.
In a night of alleged mayhem, he is accused of swiping a diner’s cell phone on Third Ave., then scuffling with the owner over it, then grabbing a steak knife from a restaurant and menacing people along E. 14th St. Ortiz, 49, faces multiple charges, including robbery, four counts of menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal mischief.
It turns out Ortiz was subsequently arrested in another East Village incident. According to a Sept. 14 complaint filed by the Manhattan district attorney against the graffiti legend, on Aug. 13 at 8:30 p.m., Ortiz placed his hand on a woman’s buttocks in front of 528 E. 11th St. and squeezed without her consent. He is charged with forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse, both misdemeanors.
Senior struggle
A female mugger knocked down a nonagenarian while on Tues., Sept. 27, near Fifth Ave. and W. 12th St., but was foiled when the the senior wouldn’t let go of her property.
Police said the suspect approached the 90-year-old around noon from behind, and tried to snatch her duffel bag from the front of her utility cart. When the victim tried to prevent the bag from being stolen, the thug knocked her to the ground and kept pulling at the bag.
But the victim held onto it, and the individual fled eastbound on E. 12th St. The elderly woman suffered lacerations to her right arm and right middle finger. She was treated and released at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
Police described the suspect as white or Hispanic, with a tattoo on her left arm. She was last seen wearing a black tank top, red pants, black shoes and carrying a black purse.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS, or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). 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. All tips are confidential.
Sham slay arrest
Shaquille Fuller, 22, the prime suspect in the fatal Feb. 23, 2015, shooting of upcoming East Village rapper Shemrod Isaac, 33, was charged last Thursday with murder and criminal weapon possession in connection with the case. A grand jury had indicted him the week before.
Both men lived in the Lillian Wald public-housing complex. Fuller, 22, of 60 Avenue D, is accused of shooting Isaac three times in the chest in front of 20 Avenue D, where he lived. He was pronounced D.O.A. at Beth Israel Medical Center.
Isaac, who performed under the name Sham Da God, was on the verge of signing a major record label deal.
Police reportedly believe a hotheaded Fuller killed Isaac after an argument. Fuller was also charged with the attempted murder of a 19-year-old who was shot two times in front of the Wald Houses in December 2014, again, reportedly over an argument.
Bad sign
On Sun., Sept. 2, around 10 p.m., a witness told police that he saw a man take a sign posted in front of West 3rd Common bar, at One W. Third St., and throw it against the front of the bar, damaging the sign.
Police arrested Clariza A. De La Cruz, 25, for misdemeanor criminal mischief.
Soap swindler
The Duane Reade at 378 Sixth Ave. was struck by an alleged soap thief early Sunday morning — but he failed to make a clean getaway.
Around 2:30 a.m. Sept. 25, a store employee told police he had observed a man remove Olay bath soap from a shelf and conceal items in a plastic bag. The man attempted to leave without paying for the items, and the worker tried to stop him by verbally confronting him. But the suds-seeking suspect threatened him with physical force.
After arresting the man and transporting him to the Sixth Precinct, police reportedly found a crack pipe with alleged drug residue on it under the patrol car’s rear passenger seat. At the precinct, the man then tried to resist arrest while being searched by “taking a fighting stance and tensing his body” while being restrained.
Sekou Salaam, 50, was arrested for felony robbery.
Cab conflict
An argument ended violently in front of 26 Ninth Ave. early Sunday morning. On Sept. 25, at 3:25 a.m., a 21-year-old man got into an argument with a 74-year-old over the destination of a taxi. The younger man punched the senior in the face, “causing swelling to his mouth, a laceration to his inside left cheek and significant pain.”
The victim was removed to the Lenox Health Greenwich Village emergency department. The suspect was apprehended at W. 13th and Hudson Sts.
Jonathan Alamo, 21, was charged with misdemeanor assault.
Plotted pickpocket?
Police spotted a man in the Christopher St. subway station with his hand near a sleeping straphanger’s pocket on the uptown subway platform.
Police said that on Wed., Sept. 21, at 3:50 a.m., the man jostled a passenger by touching and feeling his pocket. Upon a search, a crack pipe, metal “push rod,” “twist of crack cocaine” and a razor blade were discovered in his front right pocket.
The man is a recidivist in the transit system and has past arrests for grand larceny, according to police.
Gene Benito, 51, was arrested for misdemeanor jostling.
— Emily Siegel
and Lincoln Anderson
