L.E.S. rapist sentenced
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. on Dec. 4 announced the sentencing of Kevin King, 27, to 25 years in state prison and 20 years of post-release supervision for raping a woman in the stairwell of a New York City Housing Authority building on the Lower East Side in 2012.
Last month, King pleaded guilty in State Supreme Court to rape in the first degree.
In his plea, King, a Queens resident, admitted that at around 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2012, he followed a woman into the elevator of a Lower East Side NYCHA development. When she exited the elevator on an upper floor, he dragged her into a stairwell, choked her nearly unconscious, and then sexually assaulted her. He stole the victim’s ID and credit cards, and used the latter to make purchases at a pet store. The victim sustained serious injuries from the attack.
Mugging trio
Police are searching for three suspects who allegedly attacked and stole property from a man as he was leaving his Lower East Side home on Nov. 23.
The victim, 45, was exiting an elevator in his building near the corner of Henry and Clinton Sts., around 11:15 p.m., when he was grabbed from behind and choked by an unknown man, police said. Another man and a woman then reportedly teamed up to steal items from the victim’s pockets, after which all three suspects fled.
Whole Foods swindler
Police arrested Andre Small, 22, on Dec. 2 after he allegedly swindled his Union Square employer out of nearly $2,000 over more than a month.
Small worked for the Whole Foods Market at 40 E. 14th St., and was apparently caught forging catering orders and processing money from the fake orders directly into his personal bank account, police said. The supermarket’s manager told cops that the alleged criminal activity went on from Oct. 7 to Nov. 30, and he reported the details to authorities on Dec. 2 after discovering the bogus orders.
Small was charged with grand larceny.
Grope ’n’ glass throw
Olufemi Odunuga, 33, was arrested on Nov. 30 after he groped a woman and attacked a man in a South Village bar, police said.
Odunuga was in Falucka Lounge, at 162 Bleecker St., around 3:15 a.m. when the woman, 28, claimed he grabbed and squeezed her butt. After some dispute, the alleged pervert then threw a glass at a man, 36, which shattered on his forehead and left a three-inch cut, police said. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital and received stitches.
Police quickly responded to a call from the bar’s staff and apprehended Odunuga at the scene. He was charged with assault, forcible touching and sexual abuse.
Relatively reckless
Police arrested Luis Gonzalez, 50, on Nov. 29 after he accidentally fired a rifle into the ceiling of a Lower East Side public housing residence, which left his grandson injured by falling debris.
Gonzalez, who lives Upstate, was visiting relatives at the Jackson St. building in the Vladeck Houses, when the gun discharged around 10:40 a.m., police said. The 4-year-old boy was struck by pieces of metal that fell from the ceiling, and was later treated at New York Presbyterian / Lower Manhattan Hospital for minor cuts.
Gonzalez was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment, assault and attempted assault.
Fragile relationship
Janise Germosen, 25, was arrested Nov. 27 after allegedly smashing a bottle over her boyfriend’s head while the couple were arguing in a West Village restaurant.
The victim told cops that he and Germosen were sitting in Bread, at 450 Hudson St., around 10:30 p.m. when the dispute began. He claimed that Germosen suddenly grabbed the glass bottle and broke it on the back of his head, leaving him with a cut that required stitches from emergency medics who responded to the scene once the incident was reported to police.
Germosen was charged with assault.
Soho shoplifters
Two thieves snatched pricey handbags off the racks of Soho outlets last week, but only one got away with it, police said.
On Nov. 27, an employee of Legacy, at 109 Thompson St., told officers that an unknown person walked into the store around 5 p.m. and made off with a $4,500 purse. The employee couldn’t provide a description of the shoplifter because, she said, there was a lot of foot traffic in the busy store, and she couldn’t get a good look at the perpetrator.
That same day, police arrested Daniel Cedeno, 50, for allegedly stealing a $1,500 bag from Ralph Lauren, at 109 Prince St., two days earlier on the afternoon of Nov. 25. Although Cedeno eluded store employees on the day of the crime, he was identified through video surveillance footage, police said.
Lost focus…lost camera
A man’s camera equipment was stolen from right under his nose — or in this case, his stool — at a South Village coffee spot on Dec. 1, police said.
The 23-year-old victim told police he was sipping joe and charging his phone inside Aroma Espresso Bar, at Greene and W. Houston Sts., around 6 p.m. when he set his camera bag on the ground beside his stool. Minutes later, he realized the bag — containing two cameras and lenses worth nearly $2,000, plus his wallet — was gone. The man said he never spotted the thief, so couldn’t provide a description.
— Sam Spokony and Jefferson Siegel
