8 MARCH 14, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
New video of person of interest in R’wood rape
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Cops need the public’s help
in finding three men
responsible for a recent
mugging on the Ridgewood/
Glendale border.
On March 7, the NYPD released
security images of the suspects
who assaulted and robbed a
20-year-old man for his backpack
on March 1 in the area of Cooper
and Wyckoff avenues.
At around 12:45 a.m. that
day, police said, the victim was
walking through the area when
the perpetrators approached
him. They began punching
the man about the body and
face, then forcibly removed
his backpack, which contained
Beats earphones, an iPhone X,
a laptop computer and Nike Air
Jordan sneakers.
Af ter taking the bag,
authorities said, the three
muggers fled the scene in an
unknown direction.
Officers from the 104th
Precinct and EMS units
responded to the incident.
Paramedics brought the victim
to a local hospital for treatment
of abrasions to his face.
According to police, the
suspects and victim did not
know each other.
Call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS with information
about the case.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Police have obtained new video
showing a man wanted for
questioning who recently raped
a woman inside of her Ridgewood
apartment passing through a nearby
subway station’s turnstiles.
The NYPD released the footage on
March 8 hoping that someone will
recognize the man, who’s connected
to the Feb. 7 rape of a 28-year-old
woman as she slept at her residence.
According to the timestamp on the
video, the person of interest walked
through the turnstiles at 3:23 a.m., or
about 90 minutes before the sexual
assault occurred.
Sources familiar with the
investigation said that the perpetrator
and victim were “acquaintances”
who had fallen asleep in the victim’s
apartment in the vicinity of Gates
and St. Nicholas avenues. At about 5
a.m. that morning, authorities said,
the woman woke up to discover the
perpetrator raping her.
Cops said she was able to break
free from her clutches. The suspect
wound up stealing her Apple
watch and cash, then fled in an
unknown direction.
The incident was reported to the
104th Precinct, and the case was
subsequently presented to the NYPD
Queens Special Victims Squad.
Law enforcement sources
Screenshot of video, courtesy of NYPD
described the person of interest
as a black man between 27 and 32
years of age, standing about 5 feet,
11 inches tall. In the new security
video, he’s shown wearing a green
jacket with a fur-lined hood, a
black headband, black pants and
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
An Ozone Park man remains in
custody nearly a week aft er he
allegedly shot a man during a
dispute outside a neighborhood bar
— and was then shot by cops when
he refused to drop the gun he held,
police reported.
Anthony Vega, 38, of 76th
Street faces charges of assault,
criminal possession of a weapon
and reckless endangerment for
his role in the March 9 incident
outside the RRR Bar and Lounge,
located at 87-18 Liberty Ave., near
88th Street.
At 3:50 a.m. that morning,
according to Chief of Patrol
Rodney Harrison, Vega got into
a dispute with the 32-year-old
victim outside the establishment.
During the dispute, Vega allegedly
shot the other man in the foot.
At about the time police received
a 911 call about the shooting,
Harrison noted, members of
the 106th Precinct Anti-Crime
Unit — a sergeant and three
police officers, all wearing plain
clothes and riding in an unmarked
vehicle — passed the club and
Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit outside of the RRR Bar and Lounge
in Ozone Park on March 9. Photo by Robert Stridiron
witnessed the altercation.
“As the officers exited their
unmarked vehicle, they observed
the victim and the suspect fighting
for control of a firearm,” Harrison
said. “The officers ordered the
suspect to drop the firearm. The
suspect refused the officer’s
demands, at which time the officers
discharged their firearms.”
Vega sustained gunshot wounds
to his torso and arm.
Paramedics rushed both
men to Jamaica Hospital in
stable condition.
At the crime scene, Harrison
noted, officers recovered the 9 mm
firearm that the suspect allegedly
held, along with a knife.
The chief added that police
obtained body camera footage of
the incident, which is now being
reviewed by the NYPD Force
Investigation Division as part of
its probe into the shooting.
According to court records,
Vega was ordered held on $200,000
bond or $100,000 cash bail at his
March 10 arraignment; he’s due
back in court on March 25.
Robbers hit
man for his
backpack
Gunman shot by cops in Ozone Pk. still in jail
white-and-black sneakers.
Police did not disclose from
which station the footage was
obtained. The stations nearest to
the crime scene are the Seneca
Avenue stop on the M line and the
Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues station,
which services the L and M trains.
Anyone with information
regarding his whereabouts can
call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
(for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA),
visit the Crime Stoppers website,
nypdcrimestoppers.com, send a
message on Twitter to @NYPDTips
or a text to 274637 (CRIMES), then
enter TIP577.
All calls and messages are
kept confidential.
/nypdcrimestoppers.com
link
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
