POLICE DISCUSS ‘STRANGE’ BURGLARIES AND A SHOOTING IN THE 24TH PRECINCT
Posted on September 23, 2016 at 9:28 am by West Sider
Council member Helen Rosenthal gives an award for meritorious service to Deputy Inspector Marlon Larin.
By Anthony Ferrara
Police discussed a shooting at the Douglass Houses and a spate of burglaries in the 24th precinct (which covers 86th to 110th street) at a community council meeting on Wednesday.
- A 19-year-old bystander was shot outside the Douglas Houses project at 12:45 a.m. on Sunday September 4. The police are thinking it might be gang-related and have not arrested anyone yet. “They are not sure if it was the Columbus Avenue Gunners, or another gang,” said Deputy Inspector Marlon Larin. There is a cash reward.
- There have been a flurry of burglaries over the past few weeks, with a total of 11 from 9/5 to 9/16. “These burglaries are of a strange variety,” Larin said. “They are being perpetrated by people who throw heavy objects such as trash cans, and the like, to smash open a store window and grab what they can. Our Street Crimes & Plain Clothes division are working diligently to stop these people.”
- A rash of bank robberies that ran all throughout the summer was finally put down by two of the 24th’s finest. Officers Lisa Mendoza and Sarah Frankel helped apprehend a Staten Island man known as “Redbeard,” due to his facial hair and/or disguises. The alleged perpetrator, Joseph DiBennadetto, 35, of Staten Island was caught by the police on June 24, and was also found to have a stash of Heroin on his person as well, according to police. We covered it here.
- Since September 5, crimes in Riverside Park have had a slight downturn, with 9 recorded over the past two weeks, as per Compstat. The rash of robberies and assaults reported over the summer have seen a drop in that period. Inspector Larin said that “we have attempted to apprehend the teenage suspects on bicycles who have been preying on our citizens”, and added that “Since the school year has started, these issues have lessened to almost nothing.”
- Officer Rabbit gave a lecture on “skimming;” a practice where a fake reader inside an ATM steals your bank card information, and the criminals behind this can bleed your account dry. One of the ways to tell if the machine is legitimate or not is to wiggle the card inside the reader, if it moves in anyway, or a FDIC sticker is missing, do not use it. There has been an increase in skimming over the past few months, and the best way to avoid it, is to use a branch ATM, or ATM’s located in a reputable store, such as drug stores or supermarkets. The ATM’s that stand out singularly (outside a bodega, or alone on a corner), are not a safe bet.
- On September 19, an attempted bank robbery on 109th & Columbus was halted before it started by two officers. Two males, whose names have not been released, were caught after a short chase in which one of them carried a concealed pellet gun. Deputy Inspector Marion Laron stated that “Pellet Guns will be charged as regular gun crimes, due to the intimidation factor & visual similarity to real firearms.”
- Larin was also given an award for meritorious service to the community by Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal for helping clean up the Upper West Side. He thanked all of the officers under his leadership, and “hopes we can improve every day.”
In the first bullet point, why is ‘might’ in quotation marks?
Good point. We’ve removed it.
Condolences to the family, friends and all those who have lost a 19 year old boy prematurely.
An unmeasurable loss.
It says the boy was shot. Did he die?
Non-fatal is what we heard.
Then I hope he has a sppedy recovery!
This De Blasio’s NYC. Get used to it. Sad, but true.
Steve, which NYC mayor did you like?
He was a fan of that guy who was mayor when there was no crime. You know, the one who only exists in his head.
Bloomberg was a bit heavy handed. But, was incredibly smart, an effective manager and leader. De Blasio could not pass a basic IQ test and is empowering criminals. I’m not saying Bloomberg was perfect, but he would win in a gigantic landslide over de blasio.
The Broken Record Brigade is back.
The post office on 104th street also admits there are several cases of mail fraud in the neighborhood. Letters are being stolen from outside mailboxes and the money orders are altered and cashed. I had to reissue several payments because my mail disappeared from the mailbox RIGHT OUTSIDE THE POST OFFICE. People should be made aware of this…
Crime does not pay.
A person convicted of mail theft faces a fine of up to $250,000 and up to five years in federal prison. Stealing mail is a felony offense in the United States.
Congratulations Capt. Larin!! Well deserved. the man and the 24th deserve some positive recognition.
this is an officer who believes in Community Policing and is showing it can work.