Category Archives: Criminal Defense
Police Arrest Suspect in 2008 Cony Island Murder
An informer’s tip led to the arrest of a man in connection with the 2008 shooting death of livery cab driver Khadim Bhatti. According to police, Christopher Smith shot the Pakistani native and grandfather of seven after a botched robbery. Smith was arrested in West Virginia, where he was being held on unrelated charges…. Read More »
Police Step Up Hate Crimes Enforcement
After eight alleged incidents against Jews in December, Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to get tough on alleged offenders. DeBlasio pledged that more officers would be in Crown Heights, Williamsburg, and other predominantly Jewish neighborhoods. The NYPD would also be visible at synagogues and other holy places, he added. A fatal shooting at a… Read More »
Homeless Man Kills Four People, Seriously Injures One
24-year-old Randy Santos apparently went on a drug-fueled rage which ended in the slaying of four street homeless men in Chinatown. Officers responding to a disturbance call in the early morning hours came across a grisly scene. Four homeless men had been beaten to death with a metal pipe, and a fifth victim was… Read More »
Legal Changes to Affect Criminal Justice System in 2020 and Beyond
In January, new rules regarding pretrial release and evidence disclosure take effect. Prosecutors say the rules are unsafe and unwieldy, but advocates sharply disagree. Under federal case law, the state must turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants. A new state law requires prosecutors to turn over such evidence within fifteen days of… Read More »
Brutal Assault in Bronx Elevator
A 67-year-old man is in the hospital after a man attacked him without warning in an elevator. The man stopped to wipe his fingerprints off the door before he fled. The incident occurred in a high-rise across from the Bronx Zoo near the corner of East 187th Street and Southern Boulevard. After a young… Read More »
Domestic Dispute Ends in Murder/Suicide
A man fatally stabbed his estranged wife in a Queens apartment before hanging himself from a tree. 33-year-old Dineshwar Budhidat and 27-year-old Donne Dojoy married in July. Approximately a month later, police arrested Budhidat after he allegedly strangled his wife. The judge allowed Budhidat to plead guilty to reckless conduct and issued a restraining… Read More »
NYPD Says Gangs Responsible for More Shootings
Chief of Department Terence Monahan insisted that street gangs in Brooklyn and Queens are primarily responsible for increased shootings. So, lawmakers are considering two proposals which may give teeth to the NYPD’s “get tough” stance. In the last year, serious crimes have fallen 3.8 percent in New York City. But shootings have increased 7.1… Read More »
Officials Unveil New Crime Stoppers App
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said the department’s new CS-NYC app would help officers “connect to the public, and get more and more people involved, get the store owners involved, the parents [involved, and] the people that live and work in the communities [involved]” in law enforcement matters. Since Crimestoppers began in 1983,… Read More »
NYPD Officer Arrested for Inappropriate Conduct with Minor
Why is a man facing such serious charges free on bail, and what constitutional protections may make a difference at his trial? 39-year-old Shaun Frazier was babysitting two children when he allegedly made a pass at a 10-year-old child and exposed himself to the girl. She tried to call her parents, but Frazier allegedly… Read More »
Upstate NY Kids Face Hate Crime Allegations
After two schoolgirls were arrested for assaulting a classmate on a school bus, authorities tacked on hate crime charges. The 10 and 11-year-old girls, who are white, allegedly targeted a black classmate. Over the course of about twenty minutes, the two girls repeatedly hit the third girl, inflicting injuries like a black eye and… Read More »
