A woman with a young child navigated a barrier of police crime-scene tape on Washington Pl. on Oct. 12, where a fatal stabbing occurred earlier that morning.
Washington Pl. murder
Two unidentified men stabbed a victim to death on Washington Pl. just west of St. Joseph’s School at 1:41 a.m. Fri., Oct.12, police said. The victim, Fain Upsher, 23, had 10 prior arrests in New York City and 17 on Long Island for robbery, weapon possession and drug offenses, according to police sources. Usher had no fixed address.
The two suspects pushed Upsher against a parked car, stabbed him several times and fled, police said. Residents said the spot was very dark at night because a streetlight was missing as a result of sidewalk repairs.
Principal, student arrested
A confrontation between a teenage girl and a school safety officer at East Side Community High School, 420 E. 12th St., on Tuesday morning Oct. 9 ended with the girl, 17, being arrested for assault and the school principal, Marc Federman, 37, being arrested for obstructing government administration and resisting arrest.
Gonzalez and Federman were taken in handcuffs to the Ninth Precinct, where Federman was issued a desk-appearance ticket and Gonzalez was taken to the hospital complaining of head pain. Both were released on their own recognizance pending a Nov. 7 appearance for Federman and a Feb. 5 appearance for Gonzalez.
The incident started when Gonzalez showed up for school at 7:53 a.m., before the 8:10 a.m. first bell, and was refused entry by Nadire Penniston, the safety officer. Police said an argument ensued, followed by Gonzalez punching Penniston in the face. Federman tried to intervene and demanded that Penniston and another safety officer take Gonzalez out a side door instead of leading her out the front door in cuffs in view of the whole school.
Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesperson, said the safety agent acted appropriately.
“If someone assaults a school safety agent they are certainly subject to arrest and so is someone trying to block the arrest,” he said.
But Ernest Logan, president of the city’s union for school principals and administrators, said, “Our major concern has always been that we are criminalizing the behavior in schools. And the question is if this usurps the power of the principal, who is supposed to be in charge of the building.”
Video shop robbery
Police arrested Oscar Bevacqua, 34, on Thurs., Oct. 11, and charged him with the July 26 knifepoint robbery of Bowery Video, 329 Bowery at E. Second St. Bevacqua entered the store at 1:40 a.m., engaged an employee in conversation then grabbed him by the neck, put a knife to his face and then punched him and took cash and a watch and a gold chain from his pocket, according to the charge. Bevacqua tried but failed to open the cash register before fleeing, police said. He is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail pending a notice of grand jury action. In April, police, charging the place was a haven for prostitution and drugs, padlocked the store, and it remained closed for a period of time.
Village burglary
Jessie Brandon, 42, was arrested Wed., Oct. 10, and charged with the July 6 burglary of an office on E. 12th St. and University Pl. Brandon broke into the building at 11:15 p.m., rummaged through several offices and made off with a laptop computer and a digital camera, according to the charges. Bail was set at $2,000 pending a court appearance for a notice of grand jury action.
Lift and crash
Two women were arrested for shoplifting in Soho on Monday afternoon Oct. 8 and one of them was also charged with assault for driving a car that hit a police officer and crashed on Hogan Pl. in front of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Police spotted Senethia Williams, 25, and Tiffany Williams, 20, in their car parked on Broadway near Prince St. filling bags with clothes shoplifted from several Soho stores. But before they could arrest them, the women sped off, with Tiffany Williams at the wheel, police said.
Tiffany swerved, hitting and slightly injuring an officer, and Senethia jumped out on Lafayette St., where she was soon apprehended. Tiffany was arrested after the car hit several parked vehicles and crashed to a stop outside One Hogan Pl.
Senethia was charged with shoplifting and possession of stolen property and released on her own recognizance pending a Jan. 28 court date. Tiffany was charged with assaulting a police officer and reckless endangerment, in addition to shoplifting and possession of stolen property; she was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail pending an Oct. 25 court date.
Canal collision
The driver of a school bus was taken to the hospital with neck and back pain on Wednesday afternoon Oct. 10 after the school bus he was driving collided with an ambulance at the intersection of Centre and Canal Sts., police said. There were no other injuries.
Village assault
Police arrested Steven Werner, 40, on Sunday afternoon Oct. 7 and charged him with hitting a victim over the head with a bottle on Waverly Pl. at Broadway. The victim, who sustained a cut on the ear, flagged down a passing patrol car, and Werner was arrested and charged with second-degree assault.
Women lose bags
A woman patron of Absolutely Fourth, 228 W. Fourth St., had her wallet taken from her zipped-up bag 30 minutes after she hung it on the back of her chair at 11:45 p.m. Fri., Oct. 5.
A woman patron of Plumm, 246 W. 14th St., told police at 12:05 a.m. Sun., Oct. 7, that someone made off with the bag she left on a sofa in the club.
A woman patron of Havana Restaurant, at 94 Christopher St., left her bag on a sofa at noon Sun., Oct. 7, and lost it to a thief.
A woman patron of El Cantinero, a restaurant at 86 University Pl., discovered at 7:15 p.m. Mon., Oct. 8, that her cash and credit cards had been removed from her bag, which she had put under her chair.
A woman patron of Whole Foods Market at 4 Union Square S. on Tuesday morning Oct. 9 discovered that her handbag had been removed from her shopping cart.
Trademark fakes
Police executed a warrant raid on 75 Chrystie St. on Fri., Oct. 12, and confiscated hundreds of fake Louis Vuitton handbags intended for resale to street vendors. Lin Li Zheng, 19, was in the premises and changed with trademark counterfeiting. He was released on his own recognizance pending a Jan. 29 court appearance. Police said the investigation of the counterfeit merchandize ring behind the Chrystie St. location is continuing.
Albert Amateau
