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04
HYNES,
SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND, MARKOWITZ, ANNOUNCE $900,000 DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE GRANT FOR BROOKLYN
Working Through
Borough President Markowitz, Grant From the DOJ’s Office on
Violence Against Women Will Target Brooklyn’s Immigrant
Population and Focus on
High-Risk Domestic Violence
Cases
Brooklyn, September 20, 2012 – Kings County
District Attorney Charles J. Hynes,
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer
and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, and Brooklyn Borough President
Marty Markowitz today announced that Brooklyn will receive
$900,000 in funds from the Department of Justice’s Office on
Violence Against Women through the Grants to Encourage
Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders
Program. The Borough of Brooklyn will use this money in
collaboration with a number of non-profit and
non-governmental victims, including: New York Asian Women’s
Center, Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, Dwa Fanm,
the Center for Family of Life and the Trinity Healing
Center of Sunset Park. The collaborated project will target
its services to meet the needs of Caribbean, Latino, Asian
and Russian-speaking residents in Brooklyn and will provide
a comprehensive range of services and responses that are
culturally focused and sensitive to the needs of this
population. Schumer, Gillibrand, Markowitz and Hynes today
announced the $900,000 federal grant money will be awarded
to the Borough of Brooklyn to continue its commendable
efforts.
“This grant will help my office continue to break down the
linguistic and cultural barriers that isolate domestic
violence victims and protect their batterers,” said Brooklyn
District Attorney Charles J. Hynes. “I would like to thank
Sen. Schumer for his work in securing this important
funding.”
“We must do everything we can to protect women from domestic
violence, and this funding will support the needs of these
victims,” said Schumer. “I am pleased that such an important
investment in Brooklyn is being made and that, under the
leadership of Borough President Marty Markowitz and DA
Hynes, this program will provide more support, advocacy and
assistance to victims of domestic violence.”
“It is critical that we provide victims of sexual and
domestic violence with the support and safety they need,”
Senator Gillibrand said. “This federal investment
will help provide the resources
Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz and District Attorney
Hynes need on the ground to effectively advocate, counsel,
and support Brooklyn women.”
“As we prepare to mark Domestic Violence Month in October,
this $900,000 grant from the Department of Justice will go a
long way in helping to prevent domestic violence in
Brooklyn,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
“In particular, this grant will target the needs of our
borough’s Caribbean, Latino, Asian and Russian-speaking
residents—communities that are often without a voice in the
struggle against domestic violence—and fund staffing and
programming within the Kings County District Attorney’s
Office to address domestic violence through initiatives such
as arrest policies, enforcement of protection orders and
crisis counseling. My office looks forward to working with
D.A. Hynes and our community partners in the ongoing effort
to stamp out violence against women.”
The Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of
Protection Orders Program (Arrest Program) implements
certain provisions of the Violence Against Women Act, which
was enacted in September 1994 as Title IV of the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, reauthorized
in the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 and the Violence
Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act
of 2005. The program enhances victim safety and offender
accountability in cases of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault and stalking by encouraging
jurisdictions to implement pro-arrest policies as an
effective intervention that is part of a coordinated
community response. An integral component of the Arrest
Program is the creation and enhancement of collaborative
partnerships between criminal justice agencies, victim
services providers, and community organizations which
respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating
violence and stalking.
The Borough of Brooklyn intends to use the $900,000
Department of Justice award to implement a project that will
provide a comprehensive range of services and responses that
are culturally focused and sensitive to the needs of the
immigrant population in Brooklyn as well as focus on cases
involving high risk behavior. The project will include eight
components. First, this project will support five victim
assistants in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office to
support the needs of domestic violence victims and provide
24 hour crisis response to victims delivering information
and support. The project will conduct cross trainings among
project partners on project related topics and maintain the
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office’s intake procedures.
Additionally, the project will support a Project Coordinator
to continue data collection and identify dual arrest cases
and support five bi-lingual victim advocates to assist
victims by providing crisis counseling and information,
shelter placement, legal advocacy and referral to long-term
community based services. Lastly, the project will support a
prosecutor to handle dual arrest cases and support an
investigator to investigate stalking and strangulation
cases. Additionally, the project will conduct cross
trainings among project partners, maintain the Brooklyn DA’s
intake procedures, support a Project Coordinator to continue
data collection, support five bi-lingual victim advocates to
assist victims by providing crisis counseling, shelter
placement, legal advocacy and referral to longer term
community based service and support a prosecutor to handle
dual arrest cases and support an investigator to investigate
stalking and strangulation cases.
Contact: Jonah Bruno
(718) 250-2300
03
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES RECEIVES A $103 THOUSAND GRANT
FROM BROOKLYN STATE SENATOR MARTIN J. GOLDEN TO ENHANCE
PROGRAMS FOR AT-RISK YOUTHS AND VICTIMS OF
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
Brooklyn, September 19, 2012 –
Kings County District
Attorney Charles J. Hynes has received $103,000 in public
protection funds from Brooklyn State Senator Martin J.
Golden that will provide support the District Attorney’s
existing alternative to incarceration programs for at-risk
youths and to victims of domestic violence cases pending in
Brooklyn’s Domestic Violence Court parts.
“Brooklyn is the only county in New York State with two
separate Integrated Domestic Violence Courts,” said DA
Hynes. “Thanks
to this generous grant, for the first time, we will have one
dedicated social worker who will not only assist victims in
the two courtrooms, but will also form the bridge connecting
the court parts to the Brooklyn Family Justice Center.”
"I am
proud to have secured more than $100,000 in public
protection funds to support programs offered by Kings County
District Attorney Charles Hynes,” Senator Golden said.
“I am confident that through his office, this funding
will be used to create better opportunities for youth and
family justice in Brooklyn."
Of the funds,
$50,000 will be used to hire a full-time social worker for
domestic violence victims with cases pending in Integrated
Domestic Violence Courts in Brooklyn. These two IDVC parts
were opened in Brooklyn in 2005.
They provide consistency and efficiency for domestic
violence victims and their families who have pending cases
with co-occurring criminal, family, and matrimonial
components.
Prior to IDVC parts, one victim would have multiple cases in
Family Court and Criminal Court.
Now, these cases can be consolidated into a single
case, heard by a single judge.
The remaining $53,000 will help fund the seventh year of
Project Re-Direct.
The project
was created by our Gangs Bureau and was designed to offer an
alternative to incarceration for young gang members who
enter the criminal justice system.
Defendants must meet stringent qualifications to be accepted
into Project Re-Direct.
They must be referred to the program by defense
attorneys, assistant district attorneys and judges.
If accepted, he must plead guilty to the charge and
agree that if they violate they will be sentenced to a
substantial period of prison.
Each participant spends a minimum of six months
wearing a GPS ankle bracelet to insure that they are
compliant with their curfew and other mandates from the
program. Each
must re-enter school or enter and graduate from a GED
program. If the
participant has a substance abuse problem he is referred to
an appropriate substance abuse program.
All participants receive group and individual
counseling. The
funds will be used to hire a counselor who will provide
group therapy.
“Thanks to the
generous grant from Senator Golden, Project Re-Direct will
be able to open its doors to more gang involved youth and
provide them with the counseling, life skills development
and other services that these young men need to make
positive changes in their lives,” said DA Hynes. “Grants
such as this one will enable Re-Direct to grow and will
reduce recidivism thereby improving the quality of life for
all Brooklynites.”
Contact:
Mia Goldberg
(718) 250-2300
02
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NEW YORK CITY POLICE
COMMISSIONER RAYMOND W. KELLY ANNOUNCE THE TAKEDOWN OF TWO
STREET GANGS THAT TERRORIZED EAST NEW YORK
49 MEMBERS OF
ROCKSTARZ AND VCG STREET GANGS CHARGED WITH MURDER,
ATTEMPTED MURDER AND CONSPIRACY USED FACEBOOK TO THREATEN
AND INTIMIDATE EACH OTHER
Brooklyn, September 12, 2012-
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York
City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced
the takedown of two violent street gangs that terrorized
East New York for three years, the Rockstarz and the
VCG/Weez Gang (Very Crispy Gangsters), and four separate
indictments charging 49 members of the two gangs.
“Using Facebook for anti-social
networking, these thugs even ‘friended’ their enemies, so
they could post violent threats to rival gang members,” said
DA Hynes. “I would like to thank Commissioner Kelly and the
NYPD for their help in shutting down these gangs and
protecting the residents of East New York.”
Police Commissioner Kelly said,
“Detectives used social media as well as good old fashioned
police work to track these killers. I want to commend
District Attorney Hynes and his team for their outstanding
work and partnership in bringing these dangerous suspects to
justice.”
The indictments charge the two gangs
with engaging in a three-year war that began with the
shooting of VCG gang member Taquan “Tay Weez” Crandell, by
Rockstarz gang member Michael Allen Reid, in September 2009.
In addition to the Crandell shooting, the indictment against
the Rockstarz charges members with the shooting death of VCG
member Namadi Simpson, on April 9, 2010, and Johnny
Santiago, who was beaten to death on June 6, 2011, while in
an area of East New York the Rockstarz claimed was their
territory.
Members of both gangs made and accepted
“friend” requests among their rivals’ gangs, so they could
post threats to one another. The indictment charges that at
least one such comment made reference to Simpson’s murder.
After Santiago’s murder, Rockstarz members posted comments,
including, “Rockstarz are up 3-0” on Facebook, according to
the indictments. Other Rockstarz members posted Facebook
photos of VCG members featuring threatening captions, the
indictment charges.
The indictment charges that the gangs also cooperated
to prevent witnesses from testifying against members of
either gang. In a recorded phone call, from Riker’s Island,
Rockstarz member Geraldo Mena told VCG member Brandon Matos
the names of VCG witnesses who would testify against Mena,
and Matos offered to take actions that would prevent the
witnesses from making their court appearance.
The two indictments against VCG members
charge them with multiple shootings, including two that
struck innocent bystanders. One occurred on Sept. 1, 2010,
when VCG member Quashawn Smith fired a gun into Miller Park,
which was claimed by the Rockstarz, and struck a 10-year-old
boy in the neck, while he sat watching television in his own
home, according to the indictment. The indictment charges
that another occurred at 9:00 a.m. this past May 14, when
VCG member Darnell Jones hit an innocent bystander, while
attempting to shoot a member of the Rockstarz.
On Nov. 15, 2011, Marcus Worrell,
attempting to avenge the death of Johnny Santiago, shot
someone outside Santiago’s former home, whom Worrell
believed was in the Rockstarz, according to the indictment.
After ballistics evidence from that crime scene matched that
from shootings of Rockstarz members on Nov. 18, 2011, and
Nov. 23, 2011, the VCG was charged in those shootings too.
The defendants include 22 Rockstarz
members and 27 VCG members. They range in age, from 16 to
23.
Eleven members of the VCG gang and 16
members of the Rockstarz gang are charged with Conspiracy in
the First Degree. Some are also charged with Murder in the
Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and 16
are charged additionally with Criminal Possession of a
Weapon in the Second Degree.
An indictment is an accusatory
instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
The case was investigated by NYPD
officers from Brooklyn North Patrol, Brooklyn North Gang
Squad, Major Crimes Detective Squad and the 75th
Precinct Detective Squad.
The case is being prosecuted by
Assistant District Attorney Lauren Artese, of the Gang
Bureau, and Michael Perkins, Gang Bureau First Deputy Bureau
Chief. Deanna Rodriguez is Chief of the Gang Bureau.
Contact:
Sandy Silverstein
(718) 250-2300
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES 26-YEAR SENTENCE IN TWO BANK
ROBBERIES
EDWARD PRIDE ROBBED THE SAME
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS
SOVEREIGN BANK TWICE IN TWO WEEKS
Brooklyn, September 4, 2012 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Edward Pride, 49, to 26 years in
prison, for robbing the same Sovereign Bank twice in two
weeks, in February 2011.
At his sentencing today, Pride received 13 years in
prison, to run consecutively, for each robbery. He was
convicted on July 17, of two counts of Robbery in the First
Degree.
On February 11, 2011, Pride walked into a Sovereign
Bank branch on Montague Street, in Brooklyn Heights, and
handed a bank teller a note, which read, “No dye packs, no
one has to get hurt”. He then made a gesture, with his hand
in his jacket pocket, which was intended to lead the teller
to believe he had a gun. She gave him $2,500, and he left.
On Feb. 24, Pride entered the same Sovereign Bank branch,
approached the same teller, and made the same gesture and
demands. She gave him $3,500. On March 3, Pride walked into
a Sovereign Bank on Atlantic Avenue, and a teller,
suspicious of Pride’s behavior, notified security, prompting
Pride to run out of the bank. He was arrested nearby.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney
Sabeeha Madni, of the Blue Zone. Jeffrey Levitt is Chief of
the Blue Zone.
Contact:
Jonah Bruno
(718) 250-2300
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