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Video surveillance captured Klass robbing the liquor store.

The man who confessed to killing a beloved Midwood liquor store clerk during a 2010 robbery was sentenced to 35 years in prison, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced today.

Eion Klass, 36, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempted robbery charges earlier this month, and was sentenced to 25 years and 10 years respectively.

According to the DA’s office, Klass was out on parole on August 19, 2010, when he attempted to rob a Midwood liquor store wearing a mask and a gun. During the robbery, he demanded the jewelry off of a woman in the store who turned out to be the girlfriend of the clerk, Yoseph Robinson. Robinson tried to stop Klass, leading to a struggle in which he was fatally shot.

Klass was arrested the following week.

Robinson himself was a beloved and inspirational figure, having been a repentant Jamaican-born drug dealer who converted to Orthodox Judaism. His death sparked a tremendous outpouring of support from Brooklyn’s Jewish community, and more than 1,000 people attended his funeral.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog also slapped Klass with 10 years for an unrelated robbery, in which Klass clubbed a man over the head and beat him before stealing jewelry and a cell phone. Klass will serve those 10 years concurrently.

Source: Facebook

Authorities have revealed the identity of the naked, burned body found on Gerritsen Beach’s shores Sunday morning as 14-year-old Shaniesha Forbes.

Forbes was reported missing on Friday, last seen at her Flatlands home on Avenue I at 8 a.m. Friday before leaving for school. Forbes was a freshman at Academy for Young Writers in East New York, according to her Facebook profile.

According to the Daily News, Forbes’ naked body was found partially burned next to the remains of a bonfire and some beer. The burns are not believed to be the cause of her death, as there was no smoke in her lungs and only her legs, arms and hands were burned.

Police have not yet ruled the death a homicide, and an autopsy was inconclusive. They have previously noted that there were no obvious signs of trauma, but are continuing to investigate.

Various reports say that Forbes had run away from home at least once before, and so police did not issue a public missing persons bulletin.

Photo: PIX11

Authorities rushed to a patch of shoreline near Gerritsen Avenue near Lois Avenue early Sunday morning, where a woman was found dead, naked and charred by fire.

Police say the victim was a young black woman in her late teens or early twenties, according to PIX11.

The body was found near the water in the nature preserve at approximately 7:15 a.m., and police were on scene for most of the day. In addition to homicide detectives, emergency services units and K-9 units were also active at the scene, and reportedly combed the shore.

Authorities had not yet identified the woman as of Sunday evening, and no identification was found near the remains.

According to the New York Post, “Parts of the victim’s body were burned, but there were no other obvious signs of trauma, and it did not appear the woman had been dead for long.”

Police are still investigating whether there was foul play. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

Investigators on the scene of one of Maksim Gelman’s stabbings.

New York City is safer than ever as the murder rate has plummeted 20 percent, the lowest since 1963, according to a report in the New York Daily News. The drop in murders comes alongside a drop in overall shootings, the lowest in 18 years.

A Daily News report highlights the 25 percent drop in slayings in our own 61st precinct, which covers Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach and Gravesend.

“That’s a blessing,” Isitro Bennito, manager of Bagels and Beyond in Gravesend, told the Daily News. ”I’ve seen more police this past year, I think that’s the reason. The police deserve a lot of credit.”

Mayor Bloomberg lauded the statistics at an NYPD Graduation Ceremony in Brooklyn and cited some interesting numbers as proof of his claim that New York is “the safest big city in America,”

Bloomberg compared New York’s murder rate — the lowest rate per 100,000 residents amongst the 25 most populated cities — to other famous cities in the country.

If the city had the murder rate of Chicago, cops would be investigating more than 1,400 homicides this year, Bloomberg said. If the city had Detroit’s murder rate, cops would be called to more than 4,400 killings this year, he added.

While the drop in deadly incidents is welcome news, the numbers concerning the drop in our own district are slightly misleading considering the notorious Maksim Gelman stabbing spree and other high profile killings which led to an anomalous spike in the murder rate the previous year.

Still, its encouraging that the actions of those who contributed to Sheepshead Bay’s deadliest year in a decade, were not indicative of a trend that carried forward into this one.

Just under a month ago, Maksim Gelman was sentenced to 200 years by a Brooklyn judge for the four stabbing deaths during his 28-hour rampage. Now a Manhattan judge has tacked on 25 more years for the non-lethal slashing in Manhattan – his last victim before being locked up.

Before his sentencing, though, Joseph Lozito – the man he stabbed, but who also fought back and eventually subdued Gelman – took the opportunity to get a little psychological payback for his victims.

The New York Post reports:

“When you attacked me, you went down real easy,” Lozito said, setting off an exchange of insults between the two men.

“You didn’t take me down, you jerk—,” Gelman roared back.

“What you have, ladies and gentlemen, the funniest Russian since Yakov Smirnoff,” Lozito shot back in response to the hulking Gelman’s outburst.

The trash-talking came as the crazed killer replayed the vile rants that highlighted his earlier sentencing, when he berated the boyfriend of a young woman he killed and bellowed at a Brooklyn judge to “suck my Russian d—.”

“F—ing moron! Jerk—!” Gelman yelled at Lozito.

… Lozito, whose head is massively scarred from the knife attack, named each of Gelman’s victims, telling the madman to “just think about the lives that you changed.”

“They’ll never get to walk the face of the Earth because you’re a spoiled little boy,” Lozito said. “Instead of taking your ball and going home, you threw a tantrum.

“I hope you rot in your cell,” he continued. “You have hell to look forward to, so enjoy it.”

The following is a press release from Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes:

Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the sentencing of Maksim Gelman, 23, to 200 years in prison for Four Counts of Murder in the Second Degree, Two Counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Two Counts of Robbery in the First Degree, Two Counts of Robbery in the Second Degree, and Three Counts of Assault in the Second Degree.  The sentencing Judge, Vincent DelGiudice imposed 25-to-life sentences for each Murder count, 25 years for each Attempted Murder count, and the maximum sentences for the additional counts to run consecutively.  A $5000 court fee fine was also imposed.

“While there will never be justice for the victims and their families, the judge sent a strong message by imposing consecutive sentences and ensuring that he will never see the light of day,” said District Attorney Hynes.

On February 11, 2011, Gelman stabbed and killed his stepfather, Alexander Kuznetsov, during an argument over the use of Gelman’s mother’s car in Sheepshead Bay. He also killed Yalena Bulchenko and her mother, Anna Bulchenko. After killing the Bulchenkos, Gelman stole a car at knifepoint and stabbed its owner. While fleeing the scene of the carjacking, he struck and killed Steven Tannenbaum, a pedestrian crossing the street.

In the early morning hours of February 12, Gelman attacked a livery cab driver and then attacked another driver at knifepoint, injuring both drivers and stealing the second driver’s car. Gelman was arrested later on February 12 in Manhattan, for attacking a man on the subway.

He pleaded guilty to all counts of the indictment on November 30, 2011. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ken Taub, Chief of the Homicide Bureau.

On January 17, 2012 Gelman pleaded guilty to Attempted Murder in the Second Degree for his crime in Manhattan.  He is expected to receive an additional 25 years in prison to run consecutively with today’s sentence.

Source: davidsonscott15/Flickr

A woman was stabbed to death in her Brighton Beach home on Thursday, and the killer is still at large, according to the Daily News.

The perp stabbed the 51-year-old victim several times in the neck and back.

Police found the victim just before 5:00 p.m., after they received a call to her basement apartment on Brighton 12th Street.

The victim’s identity has not been released, and detectives are still investigation.

UPDATE (3:17 p.m.): Brighton Neighborhood Association Executive Director Pat Singer offers the following additional info via Facebook:

The killing took place in a three family home next door to 3021 where some momths ago a Russian ring operated the theft of thousands of dollars from Holocaust funds. It was msore than a basement. I believe it was also used as some kind of office. There is a sign on the house advertising “Home care” services.

UPDATE (5:46 p.m.): Six hours and 31 minutes after we inquired, the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information wrote to us with the following “additional details,” revealing the name and address of the victim:

Nina Khalanskaia  51  of 3019 Brighton 12 Street. Stabbed multiple times

We had to follow up and ask – again – if there had been any arrests. Below is their answer:

no

(H/t to localbroker.)

The original version of this article mistakenly identified the location as East 12th Street. It is actually Brighton 12th Street. Apologies for any confusion.

What seemed like a random shooting by a bicycle-bound gunman in Brighton Beach on October 20 may have actually been a domestic dispute, and authorities have arrested the victim’s ex-husband.

Dimitry Kamenev, 76, is accused of opening fire from a girl’s bicycle on Alla Kamenev, 65, at Sea Breeze Avenue and West 2nd Street on Thursday. Cops say it was Kamenev who was filmed on a surveillance camera riding a girl’s bike near the spot just minutes before the shooting.

The woman’s ex-husband, Kamenev was charged with murder and ciminal use of a firearm on Tuesday. Witnesses aided in the investigation, identifying Kamenev as the suspect.

According to an NBC report, the couple had been separated for several years.

Surveillance video has surfaced of the gun-wielding cyclist moments before fatally shooting 65-year-old Alla Kamenev in Brighton Beach last Thursday.

According to News 12,

Officials say the man was riding a bicycle when he pulled out a gun and shot 65-year-old Alla Kamenev near Sea Breeze Avenue and West 2nd Street.

Police describe the bicycle as a girl’s bike with a red basket.

The victim, who lived three blocks from where she was killed, was found lying on the ground at 11:50 a.m.; she was pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital.

Police are still investigating this matter and are asking anyone who has information regarding this case to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

Source: News12

A 65-year-old woman was gunned down yesterday morning at the intersection of Sea Breeze Avenue and West 2nd Street.

Police are still investigating the incident, in which they say a man on a mountain bike shot the woman multiple times as she was walking on the sidewalk just before noon. The woman was taken to Coney Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead from injuries to her torso.

The woman’s identity has not been released. No arrests have been made, and investigators are asking that anyone with information on the case contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

[via News 12]