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006
005
 KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES 16 YEAR
SENTENCE OF MAN WHO SHOT COP WHEN HE FIRED SEVERAL SHOTS
INTO OFFICER’S CAR
DEFENDANT’S WIFE, A POLICE OFFICER,
TRIED TO DISPOSE OF CAR
Brooklyn,
October 25, 2007 – Kings
County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the
sentencing of Jose Rivera, 32, for the shooting of Police Officer
Andrew Suarez on February 10. Rivera was sentenced to 16 years in
prison and five years of post-release supervision before Justice Guy
Mangano as part of a plea deal agreed to by Officer Suarez. Rivera
pled guilty to Attempted Murder in the Second Degree on October 10.
Rivera could have faced 25 years to life in prison if convicted on
the top charge of Attempted Murder in the First Degree.
On
February 10, Officer Suarez was driving an unmarked car with three
other officers when the defendant, driving a 2003 white Acura,
pulled up next to them on Sixth Avenue and Prospect Place in Park
Slope. Suarez displayed his badge and asked Rivera if he was lost.
Rivera fired numerous shots into the unmarked car, hitting Suarez in
the left torso. The other officers returned fire, striking Rivera’s
car several times, but the defendant managed to get away. Officer
Suarez underwent surgery at Kings County Hospital to have the bullet
removed.
Following the incident, Rivera fled to his apartment. Police traced
the license plate of the defendant’s vehicle to his wife, Jacqueline
Melendez-Rivera, 37, who was a police officer in the 81st
Precinct. She was found and arrested as she tried to dispose of the
vehicle. She has since been indicted on charges of Tampering with
Physical Evidence and Official Misconduct. She is awaiting trial.
Jose Rivera was also arrested later that day.
The
case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Lara Brody from the
Rackets Division. Charles Guria is Chief of the Police Integrity
Unit. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.
Contact:
Sandy Silverstein
718-250-2300
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004
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES 20-YEAR
SENTENCE
DEFENDANT ROBBED, RAPED AND SODOMIZED THREE WOMEN
Brooklyn,
October 22, 2007 – Kings
County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the
sentencing of Gerard Mitchell, 31, for the rape and robbery of three
women between October 8, 2005 and February 1, 2006. Mitchell pled
guilty on October 11 to Rape in the First Degree. He was sentenced
today before Justice Joel Goldberg to 20 years in prison.
All of
the attacks occurred early in the morning, in the same vicinity
between the Williamsburg and Bushwick Housing Projects. Mitchell
began his reign of terror on October 8, 2005 when he grabbed a
22-year-old victim from behind. He took her to a construction site
where he robbed her of her cell phone and money. He told her that he
had a gun. Then he forced her to remove her clothes, and he raped
and sodomized her. Afterward, he told her to count to 100 and then
he fled.
Mitchell attacked his next victim on October 29, 2005. He grabbed a
29-year-old woman and held a knife up to her neck. He then dragged
her to a building stairwell where he raped and robbed her.
The
third attack took place on February 1, 2006. Mitchell was dubbed the
“Devil Rapist” because, during this incident, he wore a red and
black devil mask. The defendant grabbed a 38-year-old woman from
behind. He told her that he had a gun. Then, he forced the woman
down the ramp of a building where he took her money and raped her.
He then took her to another ramp and raped her again. Again, he told
his victim to count to 100 and left.
The
victims were able to describe the assailant to police who sketched
his picture. A tipster called police and Mitchell was arrested on
February 1, 2006 near his Moore Street home in Williamsburg.
The
case was prosecuted by Miss Gregory, First Deputy Bureau Chief in
the Sex Crimes Bureau. Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes
Bureau.
Contact:
Sandy Silverstein
718-250-2300
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003
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES MURDER
CONVICTION IN COP KILLING
ALLAN CAMERON FACES LIFE IN PRISON
WITHOUT PAROLE FOR SHOOTING OF OFFICER DILLON STEWART
Brooklyn,
October 11, 2007 – Kings
County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the
conviction of Allan Cameron, 29, on the charge of Murder in the
First Degree for the killing of Police Officer Dillon Stewart. He
will be sentenced on November 8 before Justice Albert Tomei.
Cameron faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On
November 28, 2005, in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, Officer
Stewart and his partner, Paul Lipka were on routine patrol, in
uniform, in an unmarked car, when they observed Cameron drive
through a red light. When they attempted to pull him over, Cameron
sped away, going through several red lights and weaving in and out
of traffic, as the officers gave chase. When the officers pulled
alongside the defendant, Cameron fired six shots into the officers’
vehicle. One bullet slipped under Stewart’s bulletproof vest and
struck him in the heart. Stewart continued to give chase even
though he was wounded. He died a short while later at Kings County
Hospital.
Several
witnesses including Officer Lipka, crime-scene detectives, Cameron’s
girlfriend, Maritza Nicolas and Stewart’s widow, Leslyn Stewart,
provided key testimony, leading to the conviction. The trial lasted
one month before the jury came back with a verdict today.
Cameron
faces more charges for another incident in which he shot at a police
officer. No trial date has been set yet in that case.
The
case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Mark Hale and
Tom Ridges of the Homicide Bureau. Ken Taub is Chief of the
Homicide Bureau.
Contact:
Sandy Silverstein
718-250-2300
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002
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
CONVICTION IN ANTI-GAY HATE CRIME
TWO DEFENDANTS GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER
AS A HATE CRIME
Brooklyn,
October 11, 2007 – Kings
County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the
Hate-Crime conviction of Anthony Fortunato, 21, one of four men
charged in October 2006, with killing and trying to rob a gay man
because of his sexuality.
Fortunato was convicted today of Manslaughter in the Second Degree
as a Hate Crime and Attempted Petit Larceny. His codefendant, John
Fox, 20, was convicted Friday October 5, of Manslaughter in the
Second Degree as a Hate Crime, Attempted Robbery in the First Degree
As a Hate Crime, and Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree as a
Hate Crime.
Fox
will be sentenced October 24, and Fortunato, November 20. Fox faces
up to 50 years in prison, and Fortunato, a maximum of 25.
A third defendant, Gary Timmons, pleaded
guilty to Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime and
testified against Fox and Fortunato, in exchange for a four-year
prison sentence. The fourth defendant, Ilya Shurov, 21, will be
tried November 5, for charges including Murder in the Second Degree
as a Hate Crime and Attempted Robbery in the First Degree as a Hate
Crime.
The
defendants were convicted of using an Internet chat room for gay
men, to lure Sandy to Plumb Beach, just off the Belt Parkway in
Sheepshead Bay. At the beach they attempted to steal money from
Sandy, but when he resisted, they chased him, forcing him to run
onto the three-land Belt Parkway, where he was struck and killed by
a car. The driver, who fled, has not been apprehended.
The
case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Anna-Sigga
Nicolazzi, of the Homicide Bureau. Kenneth Taub is Chief of the
Homicide Bureau.
Contact:
Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
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001
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES THE
SENTENCING OF CAREER CHILD SEX PREDATOR
Brooklyn,
October 1, 2007 – Kings County District
Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the sentencing of
convicted pedophile Gilbert Estela, 53, to 45 years in prison.
Estela was convicted in August of sexually abusing two boys under
the age of 10, one of whom lived next door in the same building.
Estela,
a level-three sex offender with a string of child sex abuse
convictions dating back to 1976, was convicted of three counts of
Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, one count of Forcible Touching and
four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The top count,
Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, is a Class-D Violent Felony,
generally punishable by up to seven years in prison, but because of
Estela’s prior record with children the potential sentence was
increased to 15 years on each count, for a total of 45 years.
On
numerous occasions over the course of two years, beginning when the
younger boy was six, Estela kissed him on the lips, fondled his
buttocks and told the boy he loved him. He touched the older boy,
age 9, on the penis and buttocks in May and June 2006, the final
time squeezing the boy’s penis so hard he screamed, alerting his
mother.
Estela,
a family friend, befriended the children by offering them money and
playing video games with them in a room in the basement of the
apartment building where the nine-year-old lived, and where the
children met regularly after school. The abuse occurred in the
basement and other parts of the building.
District Attorney Hynes reminds parents that if they notice adults
spending time with neighborhood children to search for their names
in the New York State Sex Offender Registry,
http://www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor/index.htm.
The
case was prosecuted by Crimes Against Children First Deputy Bureau
Chief Jacqueline Kagan. Ama Dwimoh is Chief of the Crimes Against
Children Bureau.
Contact:
Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
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