SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Bennett Castello. Source: New York State Division of Criminal Justice via nbcnewyork.com

A man suspected of attempting to rape a 13-year-old girl in a Gravesend elevator last week has been arrested. According to a report by NBC NY, the police arrested 40-year-old Bennett Castello, a registered sex offender.

According to authorities, on April 30 at a Gravesend building located on Avenue Z and West 2nd Street, Castello was riding down an elevator with the victim when he allegedly pulled a pair of scissors and attempted to rape her. When the elevator door opened, he ran off and the girl was unharmed.

Castello was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, burglary and rape.

In 1998, Castello was convicted of sex crimes against a victim who was over 21. As a result of his conviction, he was classified as a violent sex offender.

Police are seeking the man sketched above in connection to the attempted rape of a 13-year-old girl.

According to authorities, the man was riding the elevator of a building on Avenue Z and West 2nd Street with the 13-year-old girl at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. When the elevator reached the basement, he pulled a pair of scissors, forced her off the elevator, and attempted to sexually assault her, cops said.

DNAinfo reported a police spokeperson saying that the man was “unable to complete his act and fled,” a police spokesman said.

The suspect is described as in his 30s and was last wearing all black clothing and a black beanie.

The victim did not appear to suffer any injuries.

If you have any information regarding the crime, the NYPD urges you to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577, or submit tips online to www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. All calls are kept in strict confidentiality.

Correction (1:40 p.m.): The original headline of this article indicated the attack was in Coney Island. Readers have pointed out that it occurred in a Gravesend building, on Avenue Z and West 2nd Street. We have amended the article to reflect that.

Dondre Samuel (Source: Facebook)

A 19-year-old Kingsborough Community College student was the lone survivor at the scene of an apparent double murder and suicide perpetrated by his mother, an NYPD officer,  in their Flatlands home yesterday.

Officer Rosette Samuel, a 13-year veteran of the NYPD who had never discharged her firearm in the line of duty, is believed to have fatally shot her boyfriend, their one-year-old son and then herself. A second son from a previous relationship, the 19-year-old student, fled out the back window when he was awoken by gunshots and called 911.

From the New York Post:

A cop who had worked with Samuel in the Manhattan traffic division before Samuel transferred to the 108th Precinct in Long Island City in January, said, “This is unbelievable.”

“She was tight with everyone here. It wasn’t her. Sometimes people snap,” that cop said. “Post-partum depression is the first thing that came to my mind. Didn’t show any signs of it.”

… The killings occurred just before 8:30 a.m. in Samuel’s first-floor apartment on E. 56th St. near Farragut Road in Flatlands.

Witnesses said they saw Samuel’s 19-year-old son Dondre Samuel, a biology student at Kingsborough Community College, frantically climbing out of the back window of that apartment wearing a pair of shorts and no shirt, just an Addidas jacket.

“He was shaken up,” said Anthony Beckford, 19. “My uncle asked what happened . . . he was all scraped up and he ran into the backyard. His elbows and his knees were scraped. He said, ‘Look, look!’”

“He was frantic. He couldn’t really talk,” Beckford said of Dondre, who is Samuel’s son from a prior relationship.

When Beckford looked at the front of the apartment, near the front door, he saw the body of Samuel’s boyfriend Peters, lying on the floor.

“I just the his head, and the top part of his body,” Beckford said. “He was facing down, surrounded by blood.”

Samuel’s body was found in bed, along with the one-year-old son.

Metro reports that a possible suicide note was found at the scene:

The source paraphrased Rosette Samuel’s note as saying, “Sorry I had to do this. I’m going to take Dylan with me because I can’t bear it alone,” referring to her 1-year-old son.

It also referenced a sum of money in a deferred compensation plan and specified it should be used for the college education of her other son, 19-year-old Dondre Samuel.

Cops reportedly found a sealed envelope as well. The contents are currently unknown.

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.

Police caught an apparently drunk man after he allegedly slugged a cab driver on Sheepshead Bay Road this morning, taking him into custody for the assault.

According to witnesses at the scene of his arrest, the man was jaywalking across Sheepshead Bay Road near the subway station at approximately 2:40 p.m., when a livery cab came too close for his comfort. After a verbal dispute, the man began kicking and banging on the car, and eventually punched the driver in the face.

Several people said the man appeared to be walking unsteadily, and was acting as if he had been drinking alcohol.

After the assault, he took off on foot up Sheepshead Bay Road to Avenue Z, making it as far as Homecrest Avenue, where several marked and unmarked cop cars descended on him and took him into custody. The cab driver was brought to the scene of the arrest and was seen rubbing his face, and was being examined by emergency responders.

However, his injuries – if any – seemed minor.

Police officers flooded Sheepshead Bay’s commercial corridors on Sunday, going door-to-door to inform business owners of a murderer believed to be targeting convenience stores in a bloody spree that has already left two dead.

The man they’re looking for, pictured above, is described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, 5-foot-9 and with a medium build.

The suspect’s most recent alleged victim is Isaac Kadare, found brutally killed in his Bensonhurst 99-cent store on August 2. The discovery of Kadare’s body was first reported by Bensonhurst Bean. Media reports later confirmed that two customers found Kadare on the floor of the store at approximately 8:45 p.m., and that Kadare had been stabbed in the throat and shot in the head.

Over the weekend, NYPD ballistics teams linked Kadare’s murder with the July 6 murder of Mohammed Gebeli in his Bay Ridge clothing store, Valentino Fashion. Both men were shot in the head in their shops with what’s believed to be the same .22 caliber gun.

According to the New York Post, police sources are exploring the possibility that the suspect is a serial killer, targeting businesses with the numbers 1, 7 and 8 in their street addresses – Kadare’s store was located at 1877 86th Street, while Gebeli’s was at 7718 5th Avenue. However, they acknowledge that the addresses could be simply be a coincidence, and are looking at other motivations, such as ethnic hatred.

Police are offering a $12,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. Additionally, Senator Marty Golden is offering $5,000 and Councilman David Greenfield, along with the Sephardic Community Federation, are offering up another $5,000.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to contact Crime Stoppers. All callers to Crime Stoppers remain anonymous. Callers should use the reference number BK-2303 when calling. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 1-800-577-TIPS, via the website, or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

The NYPD has issued the following call for information:

The New York City Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the following individual wanted in connection with an assault within the confines of the 60 Precinct. Details are as follows. On Friday, July 13, 2012 at approximately 8:00PM, in the vicinity of Brighton Beach Avenue and Coney Island Avenue, a white male punched and bit the victim (NYPD Traffic Enforcement Agent). The suspect fled in an unknown direction.

The suspect is described as male white, 25-30, approximately 5’10″- 6’0″. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black shorts and dark-colored sneakers.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

[via Brooklyn Scoop]

Surveillance cameras are set to be installed at the Sheepshead – Nostrand Housing Projects in August, according to Councilman Michael Nelson, who nearly quadrupled the funding for this project last month.

Residents, though, should be skeptical of any proposed date.

Find out why residents should doubt the start date.

Norman Vanigas, the 23-year-old suspected of a sex assault and firing on police officers late Sunday night, is now off the streets and in police custody.

Authorities arrested Vanigas yesterday in the Bronx, charging him with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal use of a firearm, police said.

Here’s the rundown from DNAinfo:

At about 11 p.m. Sunday, a 21-year-old woman told Brooklyn cops that she had just been sexually assaulted by a man armed with a gun and knife near Oceanview Avenue in Brighton Beach, police stated. The officers then broadcast the man’s description over the radio.

Barely four blocks away, two cops in a patrol car allegedly spotted Vanigas, who fit the suspect’s description, walking east on Brighton 10th Street toward Neptune Avenue, the NYPD said. When the officers pulled their cruiser in front of Vanigas, he reportedly ran to the north side of Neptune Avenue, took out a gun and fired once at the cops.

The officers did not return fire, police said, and the Vanigas reportedly escaped on foot, sparking a two-day manhunt that ultimately led to his arrest.

Police have not charged Vanigas with any crimes pertaining to the alleged sexual assault, an NYPD spokesman said.