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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APRIL 1-7, 2022 BXR
“Officers saw a group
of young teens fleeing
the area, one recovered a
dropped firearm and an
hour later, a call came
in from Jacobi Hospital
about a walk-in of a
15-year-old who was shot
at the intersection of
Freeman and Intervale,”
Tablante said at the meeting.
According to the captain,
the police spoke to
witnesses and watched
multiple camera footage
before making an arrest
in the March 18 shooting.
“Fortunately, our victim
was in stable condition
and was able to identify
the shooter,” Tablante
said.
The March 1 shooting
remains under investigation.
Tablante also discussed
car thefts, which
continue to plague the
South Bronx. After 14 vehicles
were stolen within
the confines of the 42nd
Precinct from Jan. 24 to
Feb. 20, thieves were at
it again this past month
— auto thefts were also
up over the same time
period last year, 24 to 17.
However, unlike the incidents
at the beginning
of the year, which took
place mainly on Southern
Boulevard, Third
Avenue and Boston Post
Road, the thefts over the
last month have been
scattered throughout the
precinct, according to
Tablante.
Burglaries have also
spiked 33% compared to
this time period last year.
The captain said the burglaries
are primarily taking
place after midnight
and in the commercial
district on Southern Boulevard.
On a positive note,
there were nine gun arrests
in the last 28 days
where 22 guns were taken
off the streets, making it
63 gun arrests on the year
in the 42nd Precinct.
Tablante also touched
on the Mayor Eric Adams’
new Neighborhood Safety
Teams (NST) initiative —
a newly imagined version
of the old anti-crime units
that were disbanded in
2020 — where cops will focus
on identifying the individuals
responsible for
violent crimes in an effort
to take guns off the street.
The teams will begin in
the Bronx and Brooklyn,
where the most shootings
have been reported this
year.
One sergeant and five
officers from the 42nd
Precinct will be members
of the new units, and
adorned in uniforms disclosing
their name, badge
number and safety team
unit embroidered on it.
“Our NST unit has
been carefully chosen
and have gone through
extensive training with
a primary focus on gun
violence,” Tablante said.
“We’re excited to see what
this unit can bring.”
South Bronx’s 42nd Precinct
has first homicide of the year
BY JASON COHEN
It took nearly three
months, but the 42nd Precinct
in the South Bronx
had its first homicide of
the year.
On March 7, Jesus
Reyes, 41, was charged
with murder, manslaughter
and criminal possession
of a weapon for his
alleged role in the killing
of Spicer Demarra, 25.
Police said the attack
happened at about 1:31
p.m. on March 5 outside
a Stebbins Avenue apartment
building where Demarra
lived in Charlotte
Gardens. Law enforcement
sources said Demarra
apparently got into
a dispute with Reyes moments
before he was fatally
attacked. Reyes also
lived on the same street.
On March 24, the 42nd
Precinct Community
Council held its monthly
meeting where NYPD
Capt. Sean Tablante discussed
crime from Feb. 21
to March 21. In addition
to having the first murder
of the year, there were
two shootings within the
42nd Precinct’s coverage
zone in the past 28-
day period. The shootings
took place on Trinity and
163rd Street on March 1,
and another one on Freeman
Street and Intervale
Avenure on March 18.
The 42nd Precinct Community Council met earlier this month
where it discussed the precinct’s first murder of the year.
Photo | Lloyd Mitchell