Violent Crime
Violent crime has plummeted in recent years. Police statistics indicate that between 1990 and 2005 overall violent crime in the Bronx decreased by 71%.
Despite these reductions, the level of violence is still too high. This violence takes many forms, in some instances so extreme that it results in the death of the victim and constitutes a “homicide.” The severity of these crimes is determined by the degree of injury and other factors, including the perpetrator’s state of mind (e.g., intentional, reckless or negligent) and whether the perpetrator was armed, particularly with a gun.
Especially heartbreaking acts of violence are those done to the elderly by other family members; those done to children by their parents or other caretakers (often discussed under the general rubric of “child abuse”); and those done by husbands to their wives (one form of domestic violence).
Felony Case Processing
We screen each felony arrest brought to court very carefully. An assistant district attorney (ADA) from the General Crimes Division Intake Bureau speaks to the victim, studies the facts of the case and determines whether to seek an indictment. Effective screening of cases at this very early stage is critical to efficient case processing and ensures that only those cases that merit felony prosecution continue along that path. The factors that determine whether a crime is prosecuted as a felony include the circumstances of the crime, the weight of the evidence and the defendant’s prior record. If a case is appropriate for indictment, it is presented to the grand jury as quickly as possible.
If a case does not merit felony prosecution, it is reduced to a lesser charge. Of course, if the evidence does not support any criminal charges, the District Attorney will decline to prosecute.
General Crimes Division Trial Bureaus
The General Crimes Division Trial Bureaus have primary responsibility for prosecuting felony crimes including homicides, robberies and assaults. Once assigned to the Trial Bureaus, ADAs are given thorough “on-the-job” training to complement the formal instruction provided by the Litigation Training Unit. ADAs newly assigned to the Trial Bureaus work as part of a prosecution team and receive close monitoring and guidance. By coupling formalized litigation training with observation of more experienced colleagues, the Office provides ADAs with the basic and specialized litigation skills required to be effective trial attorneys. Those cases that are particularly serious, sensitive or complex are prosecuted by the highly experienced trial attorneys assigned to the Senior Staff.
Violence Among Strangers
The random nature of violent acts committed by strangers makes them particularly frightening. In addition to homicide, other crimes categorized as “violent” include assault, robbery, burglary and rape. Violent crime, in any form, continues to be a top priority for the Bronx District Attorney, and he has established procedures to investigate and prosecute these crimes as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Violent Crime Cases
The rate of violent crime continued to decline in 2005; but however low the numbers, there are always crimes that shock us with their brutality. The three cases described here are homicides prosecuted in 2005. The first case involves a retired school teacher who was robbed, beaten and killed in a park. The second case involves a “cold case” homicide, a victim of a contract killing, apparently because her landlord wanted the apartment. The final violent crime summarized here was labeled by the newspaper a “chivalry slay” because the victim failed to hold open a laundromat door.
Case: Elderly teacher’s Bronx park tryst turns deadly
New York Post, 9/14/2004
Carl Dunat was a retired school-teacher and philanthropist who donated tens of thousands of dollars to his alma mater, City College. He was an avid reader who loved nature. On Saturday afternoon, September 10, 2004, seventy-one-year-old Dunat was in an area of Pelham Bay Park known for homosexual activity.
That Saturday, 23-year-old Andre Jon-Hope had been drinking beer and emerged from the trees in the area. Dunat may have been in the park looking for a sexual encounter, but instead he was robbed, brutally beaten, and stabbed with a screwdriver. Dunat was found dead the following day with his shorts down and bruised with a black eye. Jon-Hope admitted to stabbing the struggling victim several times.
A couple of hours after killing Dunat, and following a sexual encounter, Jon-Hope robbed a 29-year-old victim in the same park and stole his watch, wallet, bracelet, cell phone and cash. This victim managed to get away and notify police.
On March 30, 2005, Jon-Hope pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree. He was sentenced on April 27, 2005, to 20-years-to-life imprisonment. In addition, Jon-Hope was sentenced to a concurrent five-year sentence for the second robbery. |
Case: Woman was slain for her apt.
New York Post, 4/11/2003
Twenty-one-year-old retail clothing store sales clerk Talina Bryant was last seen alive by a friend as she boarded a bus home on September 5, 2000. Her family reported her missing the following day. Police found blood residue in her basement apartment, and some of the carpeting and flooring had been removed.
Nearly three years passed before NYPD detectives were able to link 24-year-old David Mundo to the crime. An extensive investigation was conducted during which undercover NYPD detectives taped Mundo conspiring to commit a new murder. Mundo led cops to Bryant’s body, which was buried near Metro-North railroad tracks at 237th Street and Bullard Avenue.
Mundo told cops he was a contract killer who was hired by Bryant’s landlord to end a dispute and get her out of her rent-stabilized apartment. Mundo enlisted the assistance of 25-year-old Gilberto Adames. The landlord allegedly paid them about $6,000 to commit the murder. The unidentified landlord was never charged because of insufficient evidence.
Mundo confessed to killing Bryant. He said he and Adames bound Bryant with duct tape and stabbed her with a knife, then wrapped her body in plastic garbage bags. Bryant died of multiple stab wounds.
On October 14, 2004, Mundo pleaded guilty to murder in the first degree. He was sentenced on November 4, 2004, to 20-years-to-life imprisonment.
On March 14, 2005, Gilberto Adames pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree. On March 23, 2005, he was sentenced to 17½ years imprisonment with five years post-release supervision. Adames also received a concurrent sentence of 4½-to-9 years imprisonment on an unrelated drug conviction in which he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. |
Case: ‘Chivalry slay’ suspect on trial in Bx. Dad’s death
New York Post, April 21, 2005
On the evening of November 30, 2003, Willie Brunson watched a football game and went to the laundromat to do his family’s laundry. Brunson was the father of three children, and his wife was recovering from surgery.
Upon leaving the laundromat, Brunson failed to leave the door open for an elderly woman. This alleged lack of chivalry resulted in an argument with 20-year-old Raymond Ramirez. After instigat-ing this dispute over manners, Ramirez shot Brunson once in the heart with a .25-caliber automatic handgun. Brunson died shortly afterwards at the hospital.
After this senseless murder Ramirez was apprehended at his home. Ballistics tests matched a gun recovered near his home to the murder weapon. A witness testified that Ramirez later bragged about shooting Brunson after being called “little man.”
On April 28, 2005, a jury found Ramirez guilty of murder in the sec-ond degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was sentenced on June 22, 2005, to 25-years-to life imprisonment for the murder charge, and to a concurrent sentence of five years imprisonment plus five years post-release supervision for the weapons charge.
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Project Safe Neighborhoods
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) was introduced in January 2002 as a national strategy designed to reduce gun violence in America through the combined efforts of local police and prosecutors, the US Attorney’s Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Under this grant program, the Bronx District Attorney collaborates with the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York to try to reduce the number of illegal guns on the streets of the Bronx.
As part of this effort, we are focusing on interviewing defendants charged with either illegal sale or possession of guns. A Detective Investigator and an assistant district attorney debrief such defendants in an effort to obtain information to form the basis for long-term investigations of weapons trafficking and the issuance of search warrants for the seizure of weapons. In prior years this effort was further enhanced with state funding which enabled us to conduct complex sting operations and purchase illegal guns, but this funding has been discontinued.
Project Safe Neighborhoods builds on existing relationships and agreements with these agencies to share assets and intelligence to investigate weapons trafficking and prosecute gun cases more effectively. This Office works very closely with the US Attorney’s Office, particularly in the two Bronx Weed and Seed sites, where the law enforcement focus is on gangs and violent crime.
In our efforts to eradicate gun violence, we will continue to cooperate with the US Attorney to determine whether a particular case is best prosecuted in state or federal court. Defendants who are over the age of 18 and either have entered the country illegally or have a prior felony conviction are eligible for federal prosecution in gun cases. Furthermore, if a gun has been defaced to thwart its identification, the defendant can be prosecuted federally even without a prior conviction. Under these conditions, when convicted in federal court, gun violators receive stiffer prison sentences than they would for the same conviction in state court.
In January 2003, Project Sentry was added to PSN to include a focus on juvenile gun violence. Under Project Sentry the Bronx District Attorney targets three groups of young offenders: (1) juveniles under the age of 16 who are eligible to be adjudicated juvenile delinquents (in Family Court), (2) juveniles under the age of 16 who are eligible for Juvenile Offender status, and (3) young adults 16 to 19 years old. Grant funds provide resources for an assistant district attorney (ADA) to work with the Office of the Corporation Counsel to determine whether individual cases involving juveniles should be presented to the grand jury for indictment or removed to Family Court. The same ADA prosecutes the case whether it is heard in Supreme Court, Civil Division or Family Court. Grant funds are also used for ADAs to prosecute juvenile offender and youthful offender cases in Supreme Court.
As a multi-pronged effort, PSN also includes a media campaign. In the Southern District of New York, which includes the Bronx, this campaign is known as “Project Fed Up.” As an adjunct to enforcement, Project Fed Up has designed a series of ads that have been displayed on billboards and bus shelters around the Bronx, and on flyers and palm cards. The media campaign is designed to inform the public that the NYPD and the Bronx District Attorney have joined with federal agencies in an offensive against gun violence known as Project Fed Up, and that “if you do gun crime, you do hard time.”
This Office has received a series of PSN grants beginning in 2002 and continuing into the future. While the specifics of these grants have varied (as described above), all have focused on prosecuting and preventing gun violence.
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Case: Cops shoot it out with gun gang
New York Post, October 14, 2004
The New York City Police Department’s (NYPD’s) elite Firearms Investigations Unit has the important and delicate task of intervening to prevent gun trafficking. On October 13, 2004, Andy Oliver, 25, and his accomplices agreed to sell five firearms to a confidential informant (CI) working with the NYPD’s Firearms Investigations Unit in an undercover sting operation. The CI and two undercover detectives met with Oliver. The confidential informant and Oliver went into a building to conduct the exchange. While in the building, Oliver and his co-conspirators robbed the CI at gunpoint of $2,500.
After the robbery, the undercover detectives saw the robbers fleeing on a fire escape. Oliver fired his .38 caliber revolver at the undercover detectives. One officer returned fire. No one was hit. The building was surrounded by the NYPD, and the suspects were arrested. Most of the money ($2,100) was recovered from Oliver.
This case is illustrative of one type of case that would fall under PSN. The case was not referred for federal prosecution, but was prosecuted by an assistant district attorney who worked very closely with the US Attorney’s Office on other cases.
On February 8, 2006, Oliver pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and robbery in the first degree and received two concurrent 10 year prison sentences and five years post-release supervision. One of the co-defendants, 25-year-old Eric Scruggs, admitted to being the owner of the .38 caliber revolver that was used in the robbery and shooting at police. Two hundred dollars from the robbery was recovered from Scruggs, and two hundred dollars was recovered from the apartment.
Scruggs pleaded guilty on February 2, 2006, to attempted robbery in the first degree and received a sentence of 3½ years imprisonment and five years post-release supervision.
Another co-defendant, 21-year-old Terrell Williams, admitted at the time of his plea to storing the gun used in the robbery. He also retrieved the gun for use in the robbery. Williams pleaded guilty on February 2, 2006, to attempted robbery in the first degree and was sentenced to 3½ years imprisonment and five years post-release supervision.
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Bronx District Attorney’s Gang Initiative
In 2002, this Office launched a Gang Initiative to combat violent crime. The Gang Initiative brings senior trial attorneys and staff from bureaus throughout the Office together at bimonthly meetings to discuss cases and initiatives. This approach to gang-related criminal activity encourages communication and coordination of prosecutorial efforts. The Office’s Detective Squad and Detective Investigators also participate in the Initiative. A liaison with the NYC Department of Correction provides this Office and other law enforcement agencies with gang intelligence. Gang Initiative meetings are led by a member of the District Attorney’s executive staff and by an assistant district attorney who is the Office’s Director of Gang Prosecutions.
In September 2003, the Office underwent a re-organization that led to the creation of the Bronx District Attorney’s Gangs/Major Case Bureau. Although gang-related cases may be prosecuted by any of the various bureaus that participate in the Gang Initiative (such as Narcotics, Rackets, Criminal Court, General Crimes, Domestic Violence and Child Abuse/Sex Crimes), this bureau specializes in gang prosecutions. A computer program is used to collect information on gang-related incidents and defendants. The Gang Initiative and the bureau provide mechanisms to coordinate a response to gang-related crime in the Bronx.
Case: The Bloods
The first investigation by the Bronx District Attorney’s Gang Prosecutions Bureau involved a violent narcotics distribution ring in the Patterson Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development. The investigation lasted almost a year and included the use of court-authorized wiretaps on over five phone lines. It also involved other electronic surveillance techniques and an analysis of records from several telephone companies, a utility company and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. During the course of the investigation, the following items were recovered: 1,155 vials of crack, a one-and-one-half ounce rock of crack, 527 bags of marijuana, $4,025 in cash, five guns, 53 rounds of ammunition, a bullet-proof vest, scales, and other drug paraphernalia. Investigators believe the gang’s drug sales brought in about $70,000 per month. The business was protected by threats and the use of violence. Eleven individuals were indicted on charges including attempted murder, assault, weapons possession, narcotics and conspiracy.
On November 23, 2005, thirty-one-year-old Anthony Windley (AKA “Tone”), the leader of this violent “Bloods” drug ring based in the Patterson Houses, was convicted of conspiracy in the fourth degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and other related crimes after a ten-week trial. More than 100 telephone conversations were played for the jury during the course of the trial. Windley was sentenced to a term of 15 years-to-life imprisonment. He was a persistent felony offender with three felony convictions. Five additional individuals either pleaded guilty or were convicted after trial for committing various crimes and received state prison sentences.
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Case: Treyside Bloods
On November 10, 2005, Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced the arrest and indictment of 28 alleged members and associates of the Treyside Bloods on charges of conspiracy to sell and distribute narcotics, assault, attempted assault, and weapons possession. The charges resulted from a year-long joint investigation by the Bronx District Attorney’s Gang Prosecutions Bureau and the New York City Police Department’s Bronx Gang Squad. The investigation began in November 2004 and involved more than 30 drug sales to undercover detectives, visual surveillance and the use of court-ordered wiretaps.
The gang members lived mostly in the vicinity of the Diego Beekman housing developments and derived their name from the fact that most members lived in buildings that contain the number “3” in the address. It is alleged that the gang was responsible for a number of shootings and assaults and was involved in the illegal sale of both heroin and cocaine.
Six of the 28 indicted defendants were already in custody when detectives executed arrest warrants pursuant to grand jury action. The execution of search warrants led to three additional arrests. A total of 39 members of the Treyside Bloods were indicted in 2005. District Attorney Johnson stated, “These defendants allegedly attempted to fill the void created by prior investigations that shut down drug dealing operations at Diego Beekman twice in the last ten years. We hope that these charges against yet another new crop of alleged ‘drug dealing wannabes’ sends a reassuring message to the community that we in law enforcement will be back again and again, if necessary.”
According to investigators, the gang earned more than $1.5 million per year from street-level drug sales in a 24-square block area. The overwhelming majority of the drug transactions occurred in the Diego Beekman Houses, a complex of approximately 30 buildings in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. The gang peddled heroin and crack-cocaine under numerous brand names including G-Unit, Shaft, Paradise, Funny Money, and Freeway. Marijuana was also sold in small quantities.
During the course of the investigation, undercover detectives purchased several hundred vials of crack-cocaine and glassine envelopes containing heroin and cocaine in powder form. Additional contraband was seized following execution of the arrest and search warrants. Investigators recovered a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a loaded P85 Ruger handgun, an imitation pistol, approximately 25 grams of crack-cocaine, 64 vials or bags containing crack-cocaine, seven bags of powder cocaine, 15 glassine envelopes containing heroin, more than an ounce of marijuana, drug paraphernalia including scales and packaging items, and more than $10,000 in cash.
The indictments charge the defendants with conspiracy, criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance, criminal sale and possession of marijuana, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.
The 31-year-old identified “key player” in the Treyside organization faces up to 62 years imprisonment if convicted of all of the most serious charges against him, which include one Class A-II and four Class B felony drug sales. Most of the other defendants, including the alleged partners, face maximum sentences of up to 25 years imprisonment. |
Sex Crimes
The Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Bureau (CAS) prosecutes both felonies and misdemeanors involving sexual assault against an adult by an intimate partner, an acquaintance or a stranger, and sexual assault against a child by a family member, other adult caretaker, or a stranger. Because of the nature of these crimes, the ADAs assigned to this bureau are carefully selected and receive specialized training. CAS works closely with the New York City Police Department to investigate and prosecute cases of adult and child sexual assault, and the bureau’s efforts are supported by the Crime Victims Assistance Unit (CVAU), the Bronx Multidisciplinary Team on Child Physical and Sexual Abuse, and the Bronx Adolescent and Adult Sexual Assault Task Force. In addition, the CAS Bureau is represented on the NYC Criminal Justice Coordinator’s Citywide Sexual Assault Task Force.
Bronx Sexual Assault Response Team
In 2002 the Bronx Adolescent and Adult Sexual Assault Task Force began meeting at the District Attorney’s Office. The goal of the Task Force is to identify and respond to system challenges and develop solutions to improve services for victims of sexual assault. The Task Force is composed of representatives from hospitals and the medical community, the New York City Criminal Justice Coordinator’s Office, the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, nonprofit crime victim service providers, the New York City Police Department, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. The members identified a need and with the aid of the Mayor’s Office obtained funding for a Bronx Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).
The Bronx SART began delivering advanced forensic and counseling services in April 2004 to every sexual assault victim seeking treatment at any of the three municipal hospitals in the Bronx. The Bronx SART is on-call around-the-clock, every day of the year to respond within one hour. The responders include a specially-trained forensic examiner and a rape crisis advocate. Compassionate and competent care delivered promptly helps sexual assault victims overcome the trauma from the attacks. The rapid response is also meant to ensure that critical evidence is properly collected as soon as possible after an attack, which assists with the investigation and prosecution of these violent crimes.
The Bronx SART is supported by federal and state grants and consists of a group of 12 - 14 Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFEs) who are coordinated by a project director who works from North Central Bronx Hospital. The examiners conduct a physical examination, collect potential DNA evidence, and document both internal and external injuries. Between April 2004 and October 2005, the Bronx SART handled 342 cases. In 95% of those cases, a SART examiner responded to the hospital within one hour of admission of the sexual assault victim to the Emergency Room. In 54% of those cases, the physical examination of the victim revealed findings of genital trauma consistent with the alleged sexual assault.
Child Abuse
Child Abuse refers to crimes against children. While many physical or sexual assaults against children are committed by persons living in a family-type relationship with the child, these assaults are also committed by persons unrelated to the child, such as teachers or coaches.
The District Attorney gives top priority to the safety and welfare of children and responds appropriately when children are victims of crime. Most instances of familial child abuse can be resolved by the Department of Social Services and the Family Court without intervention by law enforcement agencies. Those that are serious enough to be crimes are prosecuted by the District Attorney.
Case: Bronx baby killer convicted after failing to discredit SBS
Bronx Times, October 20, 2005
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is “a type of inflicted traumatic brain injury that happens when a baby is violently shaken. A baby has weak neck muscles and a large, heavy head. Shaking makes the fragile brain bounce back and forth inside the skull and causes bruising, swelling, and bleeding, which can lead to permanent, severe brain damage or death. The characteristic injuries of shaken baby syndrome are subdural hemorrhages (bleeding in the brain), retinal hemorrhages (bleeding in the retina), damage to the spinal cord and neck, and fractures of the ribs and bones.” For decades the medical and legal communities have accepted SBS as an explanation of how a child can be injured or killed. In thousands of cases nationwide, prosecutors have used medical testimony to successfully prosecute child abusers. In 2005 in Bronx County, the defense mounted a challenge to SBS that could affect many future cases.
Thirty-four-year-old Leslie Martin was left alone for the first time with his five-month-old daughter Brianna on May 13, 2003. Martin stated that when he woke from a nap in the late afternoon, the child was not breathing so he had a neighbor call 911.
The baby was taken to the Emergency Room and died three days later on May 16.
Doctors diagnosed the baby with a subdural hematoma and bi-retinal hemorrhages in the eyes and testified at trial that both conditions were classic signs of “shaken baby syndrome.” This trial was the first in the Bronx in which the defense sought to challenge and discredit the validity of shaken baby syndrome. The judge weighed the testimony of nine different medical doctors called as expert witnesses for the prosecution or defense in the fields of pediatrics, forensic pathology, neuropathology, neurosurgery and ophthalmology. By discrediting expert testimony attacking shaken baby syndrome, this case reaffirmed its validity.
On October 12, 2005, Martin was found guilty in a non-jury trial of criminally negligent homicide. He was sentenced on October 31 to 1 1/3-to-four years in prison. |
Child Abuse Response Unit
The Child Abuse Response Unit is part of CAS and consists of four investigative aides, four detective investigators and one coordinator (who is an assistant district attorney). The unit was established to ensure appropriate law enforcement review of allegations of child abuse occurring in the Bronx and reported to the New York State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (also called the “child abuse hotline”). The unit also receives and reviews reports of abuse from schools, hospitals and members of the community. The unit refers appropriate cases to the NYPD Special Victims Squad or to Detective Investigators from this Office who have been specially trained to handle child abuse cases. In 2005, the unit reviewed 1,957 reports from the state central register. Following investigations, it actively participated in the arrests of 390 alleged child abusers.
Closed Circuit Televising of Testimony of Children Who are Victims of Abuse
Physical or sexual abuse is traumatic regardless of age. When the abuser is prosecuted and the victim is called upon to testify, he or she is subject to additional, system-induced trauma. The level of such trauma experienced by a child victim is often substantially greater than that experienced by an adult. Children are less likely to understand the experience and are often afraid that they will be punished if they say or do the wrong thing. Most upsetting for child victims, however, is facing the defendant in court. Coming face-to-face with the individuals who abused them engenders a host of emotions, especially fear and anger.
One approach to eliminating the need for the child to be in close proximity to the defendant, while preserving the defendant’s right to confront his accuser and the right to cross-examine the witness, is to present the child’s testimony via closed-circuit television from a room outside the courtroom. In September 2000, the Office of the District Attorney received a grant from the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Funds from this grant were used to purchase state-of-the-art equipment that enable prosecutors to present closed-circuit testimony from child victims of abuse in appropriate cases.
Multidisciplinary Team on Child Physical and Sexual Abuse
The Multidisciplinary Team is a coalition of representatives from the Office of the Bronx District Attorney, Bronx hospitals, mental health service providers, school districts, the Administration for Children’s Services, the New York City Corporation Counsel, the NYPD and the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society. Its purpose is to improve communication among participating agencies and coordinate their involvement in child abuse cases. The primary benefit of this multidisciplinary approach is the minimization of system-induced trauma to the victim. The Multidisciplinary Team assists hospital personnel in identifying and treating victims of child abuse, and acts as a network for further referrals.
This team approach affords a number of benefits. First, it enhances the quality of evidence available to all participants by affording them the opportunity to be present to ask questions at the victim’s first interview. Second, it minimizes the additional trauma to the victim who, if subjected to repeated interviews, must revisit incidents that may have been emotionally devastating. Third, it avoids problems associated with having victims repeat their stories, such as details forgotten or inadvertently omitted, and having victims becoming tired and uncooperative. In 2005, members of the Multidisciplinary Team conducted 270 joint interviews. Through its participation in the Multidisciplinary Team, the Office has significantly improved its ability to prosecute child abusers effectively while addressing the needs of child abuse victims.
Internet Crimes Against Children
Ever-increasing access to computers and the internet opens doors for both children and adults to acquire a wealth of information without ever having to leave their homes. Unfortunately, however, the availability of this technology may also give sexual predators access to our children. According to the U.S. Census 2000, there are close to 400,000 Bronx residents who are under the age of 18. Many of them use computers daily.
In 2001, this Office received a federal grant to establish an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Investigative Satellite initiative. Through this program, detectives and assistant district attorneys developed excellent contacts in the law enforcement community with whom they share ideas and expertise. The agencies include the New York State ICAC Task Force, the New York Attorney General, numerous District Attorneys’ Offices, the New York State District Attorneys Association, U.S. Customs, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service. In addition, members of the Satellite Task Force are members of numerous other task forces and committees dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of internet crimes against children.
Violence In The Home
While random acts of violence are frightening, family violence may be even more terrifying. Being brutalized by one’s own spouse, parent or child is often more traumatic than being similarly assaulted by a stranger. When the attacker is a family member, the victim knows that subsequent attacks are likely. For the prosecutor, family violence cases present special challenges requiring a combination of vigorous prosecution and extraordinary sensitivity. To meet these challenges, the prosecutor must draw upon other resources in the District Attorney’s Office and work collaboratively with outside agencies.
Types of Family Violence
There are two types of family violence. Domestic violence includes violence between past or present spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who have a child in common, intimate partners, and persons who are or were living together in a family-type relationship. Family violence also includes the physical or sexual abuse of a child by a parent or other adult caretaker.
Despite continuing reductions in violent crime in recent years, domestic violence remains a very serious problem in the Bronx. According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), in 2001 (the most recent year for which statistics are available) there were 10,688 reports of domestic violence offenses in Bronx County, representing 27% of all such cases in New York City.
Domestic Violence Bureau
The Domestic Violence Bureau (DV) specializes in prosecuting domestic violence cases, both on the felony and misdemeanor levels. assistant district attorneys assigned to this bureau must be adept at handling issues specific to domestic violence, such as victim and witness reluctance to testify against a family member. These ADAs receive specialized training in-house and may also attend conferences and seminars on topics related to domestic violence.
Each time a victim has to recount the details of a horrifying experience, he or she experiences additional trauma. To minimize such trauma in domestic violence, the Domestic Violence Bureau assigns one ADA to handle each case from intake through disposition. That ADA works closely with victim advocates who provide support to victims throughout the criminal justice process.
S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women
Although ADAs may look to other agencies for assistance when preparing a domestic violence case, prior to 1998 there were no formal partnerships in this area. Since 1998, the Office has received grant funds administered through the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, under the federal S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women Grant Program. Through this grant, staff work with other agencies (the NYPD and Safe Horizon) to provide an early, coordinated response to misdemeanor domestic violence cases in Bronx County. The goal of the District Attorney’s S.T.O.P. grant is to improve prosecution of domestic violence cases and increase the safety of domestic violence victims.
These cases often follow a pattern. One partner, typically the male, tries to control the other. The controlling partner strikes the other partner but the injury is relatively minor. Over time the assaults become more frequent, the injury more serious and the climate of terror unbearable. Nevertheless, the injured partner is often unable or unwilling to leave the home (or the relationship) and is reluctant to initiate or follow through on efforts to prosecute the offender. The District Attorney works hard with the police, service providers and the court to break the pattern of violence. Despite these efforts, sometimes no one is able to prevent a truly heinous crime.
Case: Her dad gets life for hacking mom
New York Daily News, May 18, 2006
It should have been a happy time. Rafael Castro arrived in the Bronx from the Dominican Republic on April 23, 2003. He traveled with Martha and intended to marry her daughter, 21-year-old Rosa (pseudonyms). Castro and Rosa were the parents of two daughters.
Twenty-four-year-old Castro suspected Rosa of cheating on him with another man. On May 13, 2004, Castro struck Rosa several times in the head and neck with a machete. When Martha returned home, she saw her fatally injured daughter. Castro then struck his once future mother-in-law, now a witness to murder, in the head with the same machete, causing massive injuries. Castro remained in the apartment with his two children and their mother’s body until the morning of May 14 when he took the 18-month-old baby to a neighbor and the seven-year-old to school. Castro then fled to the Dominican Republic. He eventually surrendered to authorities.
Neighbors called 911 and reported Rosa and Martha missing. Martha was left in the apartment for 37 hours before police arrived. NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit entered the apartment and found Rosa’s body in the bathtub and Martha semi-conscious in the bedroom. Martha survived her injuries.
Castro’s elder daughter wrote in a letter to the Court, “Sometimes I dream about seeing my grandmother with blood on her head. I also remember seeing my little sister with blood on her back. Me and my sister miss our mom . . .”
After less than a day of deliberation, the jury found Castro guilty of murder in the second degree for killing Rosa, attempted murder in the second degree for attacking Martha, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. On May 17, 2006, Castro was sentenced to 25-years-to-life imprisonment for murder and 25 consecutive years for attempted murder, for a total sentence of 50-years-to-life imprisonment. |
New York State’s First Integrated Domestic Violence Part
The Bronx has the highest rate of domestic violence reports per hundred thousand population in the City. The Bronx’s nearly 50,000 Domestic Incident Reports represent 25% of the citywide total. On October 22, 2001, a new integrated domestic violence (IDV) court part opened in Bronx Criminal Court, the first in the State. This part now combines Supreme Court’s Criminal and Civil Divisions and Family Court. It was implemented in recognition that domestic violence often involves not only criminal matters but other family matters as well. For example, a woman who has been assaulted by her husband may obtain a “full stay away” order of protection in Criminal Division. If the couple has children together and the father wants to see the children, he must go to Family Court to obtain visitation rights. If either party seeks a divorce, he or she must do so in Supreme Court, Civil Division. In the past these cases, in different courts, would have proceeded completely independently. Now all three cases are sent to the IDV Part for adjudication and heard by one judge, who is aware of the circumstances surrounding all cases.
This new process is clearly a step forward, even though the part requires us to provide ADAs at a time when resources are limited. Since 2002, the Bronx Borough President’s Office, in collaboration with this Office and Sanctuary for Families, has received grant funding from the Office on Violence Against Women of the U.S. Department of Justice. With resources from these grants, the Borough President’s Office formed an advisory committee that initiates domestic violence awareness projects. Grant funds are also used for some of the District Attorney’s staff in the court part, and to enable Sanctuary for Families, a non‑profit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of victims of domestic violence, to provide legal and other services to crime victims.
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