The recent shooting of 15-year-old Yvette Marie Torres and lack of progress in finding the person who shot her has led a group of concerned residents, from the Bronx, Queens and even Massachusetts, to take the investigation into their own hands.
The group, led by Nelson Figueroa, a childhood friend of Yvette's mother, have organized a "Rally for Yvette" this Saturday at 2396 Valentine Avenue, near the corner of E. 187th Street, just below Fordham Road. That's where Yvette was shot after apparently standing up to a bully during a party. They created a "Rally for Yvette" Facebook page to advertise the event.
Figueroa also set up a phone number (347-670-3843) and an e-mail address (JUSTICE4EVIE@gmail.com) so witnesses and or anyone with information about the shooting, who might not feel comfortable dealing with police, could come forward.
According to Figueroa, Yvette was taken out of a medically-induced coma yesterday and given two days to respond. Doctors were checking for brain activity, he said.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Bronx Crime Watch: Rally for Yvette (Updated)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Bronx Crime Watch: 46th Precinct Murder Count Doubles Over 8 Days in April
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| Police have beefed up their foot patrols around Creston Ave. in the 46th Precinct. |
Photo and Story by Giovanny Fausto Pinto
In April, residents within the 46th Precinct saw the coming of spring and three brutal murders.
Following the murders, all shootings, including a brazen teen-on-teen killing during rush hour near bustling Burnside Avenue, local residents fear the situation may only get worse.
“Crime was getting better and now there is no control,” said a 35-year-resident of the area who only wished to be identified as Eddie. “People need to take care of these kids.”
In front of the Pizza shop where Eddie stopped to get a bite to eat stood the stark reminder of violence, a street memorial of candles, flowers, and empty liquor bottles.
“Summer is coming,” he added as a forewarning. “They ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Monday, April 18, 2011
Bronx Crime Watch: Dead Grandma's Neighbor Indicted; Murder in U-Heights
I know it's been a while, but Crime Watch is back today with a couple of Bronx murder reports.
Neighbor of Dead Grandmother Indicted for Murder
Last week, Tyrone Ragland reportedly confessed to murdering 82-year-old grandmother Ethel Parish while high on crack. Today, Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson announced Ragland's indictment on three murder counts that would put him away for life. Earlier in his life, Ragland spent 15 years in prison for murder.
On January 5, according to the Daily News, Ragland smoked crack before going over to Parish's apartment on the 15th floor of the Murphy Houses on Crotona Avenue. Ragland said an argument erupted over $80 that Parish supposedly owed him for house work and that she attacked him first and then he retaliated. Next thing he knew, Parish was lying in a pool of her own blood. (Note: The Daily News has the grandmother's last name as "Klein," the Post, Times and Bronx DA has it as Parish. The DA also has her age as 82, though it appears different in some of the other published reports.)
Murder on 182nd and Creston
On Sunday afternoon, shot rang out in University Heights, near the corner of E. 182nd Street and Creston Avenue, an area known for its rampant drug dealing.
Police responded and found Norman Cassling, 29, of Bridgeport, Conn., with at least one bullet wound to his chest. Emergency workers were called and pronounced him dead at the scene, which was right in front of 120 E. 182nd St.
Police say no arrests have been made and that the investigation is ongoing.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Bronx Crime Watch: Police Seek Suspect in Murder of 16-year-old
Investigators are looking for help locating three suspects (see video), described as being Hispanic males in their late teens or early 20s, who police believe are responsible for the recent murder of 16-year-old Jose Miguel Marte.
A resident of Franklyn Avenue, near E. 166th Street, Marte was shot once in the chest and once in the stomach on Sunday night, Feb. 20. Police found him in front of 365 E. 184th St. EMS took Marte to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
A week later, police released a video (see above) showing footage of the suspects walking down a street. The footage is grainy, but police managed to zoom in on the suspects’ faces and slow the images down. Police have not yet identified the suspects and are actively seeking the public’s assistance.
Editor’s note: If you have information about this murder, you can call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, (800) 577-TIPS. You can also submit tips online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering in the code TIP577.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Bronx Crime Watch: Murder on Morris Ave.
Eric McMillan, a 26-year-old Bronx resident was shot and killed last night on Morris Avenue, a half block south of Tremont Avenue in the 46th Precinct, according to police. A report from the NYPD says McMillan was shot in the head and torso. He was found at about 10 p.m. and taken to Bronx Lebanon Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. No arrests have been made and police say the investigation is ongoing.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Bronx News Roundup, March 9
Enjoy the beautiful day, but while you're inside or on a laptop in one of the Bronx's many parks, here's some Bronx news for you:
A Bronx cop from the 46th precinct was arrested yesterday for being involved in a million-dollar perfume heist.
A 47 -year-old woman was found stabbed to death in her Morris Heights apartment last night. No arrests have been made.
The Parade Grounds in Van Cortlandt Park have become unexpectedly flooded, delaying it's reopening and forcing athletic leagues to look for new locations to hold their games.
Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. confirms that he is in the process of creating a new plan for the Kingsbridge Armory.
Animal Rights advocates hope that the conviction of the two men involved in a dog fighting ring in the Bronx sends a message. The men are facing up to four years in prison once sentenced on March 17.
The Daily News reports that the vehicle that killed 17-year-old Keon Nedd in a hit-and-run accident this past weekend, was stolen and driven by a group of teenagers. Police are still in search of the teens who fled the scene.
Demolition at the old Yankee Stadium continues.
Boston Road is still known for some of the best deals in the Bronx. Read more here.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Anthony Baez, Victim of Police Brutality, Dead 15 Years
On Dec. 22, 1994 - 15 years ago today - Anthony Baez, a 29-year-old Florida resident, was choked to death by a police officer on Cameron Place in University Heights, near where his parents lived.
Baez had been playing football with his brothers in the early hours of the morning, when their ball hit a police car. Police Officer Francis X Livoti jumped out and told them to go home. They refused, and as Livoti tried to arrest them, he grabbed Baez around the neck, asphyxiating him.
Livoti was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in 1996, but found guilty in 1997 of violating Baez's civil rights. He served six-and-a-half years in jail.
The 46th Precinct - where Baez was killed - is no stranger to police brutality. In 1987, there was Eleanor Bumpurs; in 1995, Anthony Rosario and Hilton Vega.
Today, the police and the community have a better relationship. The Four-Six has a popular commanding officer, Inspector Kevin Harrington, and the precinct's monthly community council meetings are always well-attended, a sign perhaps that cops and local residents are communicating and willing to share their concerns.
But problems remain: while serious crimes are down again this year, civilian complaints are up. We'll have more on this in the January issue of the Mount Hope Monitor.
Photo: A mural on the building Baez's parents used to live in. In 2000, this street was dual-named Anthony Baez Place.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Bronx Events Through Nov. 19
A glimpse of Puerto RicoThe University Neighborhood Housing Program is offering a free course in finance at the Concourse House, 2751 Grand Concourse, Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m., Nov. 18 to Dec. 16. It will cover banking, goal setting, budgeting, debt management, credit, and more. Upon completion of the course, students will receive a certificate that can be used at any credit union to open a savings account. RSVP by calling (718) 933-2539.
Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. is hosting the Bronx Economic Summit: A Blueprint for Success, Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New York Botanical Garden. At the summit, Bronx merchants and businesses will join together to discuss future business plans, job training, cultural organizations, forming a green economy and unemployment. Register for the event at http://events.boedc.com/registration-form.
Echo Park's farmers market is coming to a close. This Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be the last chance to get your pick of vendors' fresh fruits, vegetables, and baked goods. The market is in the southwest corner of the park, along East Tremont Avenue. Food stamps are accepted. For more information, call Annie Moss at (718) 901-2849.
Community Board 5’s next general board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at South Bronx Jobs Corps, 1771 Andrews Ave., in the auditorium. All are welcome. For more information, call CB5 at (718) 364-2030 or e-mail brxcb5@optonline.net.
The 46th Precinct’s next Community Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the precinct station house, at 2120 Ryer Ave., at 7 p.m. Community council meetings fall on the on the third Tuesday of every month. They give residents the chance to meet local police officers and air their concerns. For more information, please call (718) 220-5234.
Monday, August 10, 2009
National Night Out in the Bronx
Last Tuesday, the Bronx played host to several National Night Out events, including one on Morris Avenue at East 182nd Street (the first five photos) and another on Tiebout at East 183rd (the second five).
Currently its 26th year, National Night Out brings together local residents, community leaders, and police officers, with the aim of "taking back" the streets from criminals, and improving police-community relations.
Across the country, close to 40 million people took part.
Photos by Alma Watkins
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Online: February's Mount Hope Monitor
The February edition of the Monitor is now online.
Stories include:
The upcoming renovation of the High Bridge, and its planned reopening in 2012, will bring two boroughs together again.
A Bronx assemblyman has convinced the mayor of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to rename a street there after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Crime in the 46th Precinct was down 10 percent in 2008, despite, or arguably because of, some 14,000 arrests in the area, a city high. Read our regular Crime Watch feature here.
Piggybacking on President Obama's call for a "new era of responsibility," here's a list of local organizations looking for volunteers.
More here.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Morris Heights Man Confesses to Killing Mother, Brother
A Morris Heights man has confessed to shooting his mother and brother before chopping up their bodies and tossing the pieces into the Harlem River.
Police say Lamar Platt, 24, admitted to killing his mother Marlene, 45, and brother Nashan, 23, before dismembering their bodies inside the apartment they shared at 1610 University Ave.
One unconfirmed report stated the man used a small cart to wheel the body parts to a secluded section of Roberto Clemente State Park, before tossing what was left of his family over a fence and into the river.
A police source said Lamar's 63-year old grandmother became suspicious after she was unable to reach her daughter. A neighbor claimed she hadn't seen the two victims since Nov. 18.
Police arrived at the apartment sometime on Sunday, where one grim-faced detective recalled, "The walls were covered in blood." Police picked up Platt to took him to the 46th Precinct, where they held him all day Monday.
Early this morning, two pairs of detectives marched Platt (pictured center) out of the precinct station-house and into a waiting squad-car. Wearing a black leather jacket and matching NY Yankees cap, Platt turned his eyes to the ground as he passed the television cameras.
Detectives say Platt has been charged with two counts of second degree murder.
Police divers who searched the chilly waters late Monday were expected back today.
Text and photo by DAVID GREENE.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Partying Despite the Pushers
In a kind of passive resistance, neighbors across the 46th Precinct celebrated their sense of community in the face of crime Tuesday night by participating in National Night Out.
Neighbors shared food, teenagers enjoyed good clean fun and clowns transformed babes into butterflies, as local communities joined thousands of others across the country to give neighborhood drugs and crime a “going away party.”
With three sites– the most in the city – these blocks laid claim to their neighborhoods, holding up a vision of community as a united front. Community groups staged block parties on Tiebout Avenue between 182nd and 183rd Streets, the same block on Morris Avenue and at Roberto Clemente State Park “to show the pushers we’ve had enough,” said Nero Graham, of Morris Community Action Programs.
At the Morris Avenue party, resident Angelo Vega said, “they have a slogan around here somewhere,” but whatever it says, the night is really just about taking back the community.
For him, as well as for Graham, neighborhood children freely running about epitomized the point of the evening.
“The kids are really enjoying themselves, and that’s what counts,” Vega said. “You only see a hose spraying water, but it’s so much more to them.”
National Night Out is a time for kids to play without fearing guns or drugs, to really feel “it’s their block,” Graham added. (Photos by Laura Sayer)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Man Dead Following Fall From Building
A man is dead after apparently falling from the roof of a six-story Grand Concourse apartment building at approximately 9 p.m. this evening. Police were at the scene in minutes, but there was clearly little they could do. Someone placed a white sheet over the body. As a crowd gathered, rumors began to swirl. One man said the dead man jumped. Another said he was he was being chased by a cop and toppled over the edge. The deceased has yet to be identified. One bystander described him as 30-something-year-old black male, who lived on the building's fourth floor. The building is at 1900 Grand Concourse, in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx. Check back for updates.
Update: According to the Daily News the man, James Harris, fell from a fourth floor window, not the roof, after climbing onto an air conditioning unit while trying to escape cops who had knocked on his apartment door to serve an arrest warrant.
Monday, January 8, 2007
New Stories on the WBNN and the Monitor
The West Bronx News Network and the Mount Hope Monitor have been updated.
Stories include a look at a 24 foot high surveillance tower that is destined for East Fordham Road sometime in the new year. "Sky Watch" has been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, and along the Mexican border. Now, the NYPD are using it in several high crime neighborhood across the city.
Speaking of crime, the complete stats for 2006 are out. In the 46th Precinct - which patrols Mount Hope, Morris Heights and the rest of Community District 5 - there's good news: Crime is down 12 percent on 2005, compared to a five percent reduction citywide. But drugs and violence remain serious problems, and the precinct made more arrests last year than any other in the city. Click here for more. (In November the Mount Hope Monitor profiled the 46th Precinct and its commanding officer, Kevin Harrington, at length. Click here for the article.)
