Results tagged “felony”

State Senator Hiram Monserrate's girlfriend spoke to the Daily News about her love for Monserrate: "I love him. We love each other and we want to be together again." See, Karla Giraldo hasn't been able to see Monserrate ever since a judge placed an order of protection preventing him from contacting her—since he slashed her last December with a broken glass—"I never asked for an order of protection. Now that the case is over, what is the reason for keeping us separated? I feel that the justice system has been unjust to me."

State Sen. Hiram Monserrate was found guilty of misdemeanor assault, but he was acquitted of more serious felony assault charges after slashing his girlfriend's face during a Dec. 9 dispute. In a bench trial, Monserrate was found guilty of "recklessly causing physical injury to his companion, Karla Giraldo, by dragging her though his lobby after she was cut," the New York Times reports. If he had been found guilty of the felony charges — which each carried up to seven years in prison — he would have been forced to step down from his Senate seat.

Later this afternoon, Justice William Erlbaum is expected to give his verdict for State Senator Hiram Monserrate's assault trial. The freshman Senator (and former NYPD and City Councilman) is accused of slashing his girlfriend last year, sending her to the hospital for 40 stitches. He and his girlfriend claim it was an accident. One expert believes, based on the 6 hours of closing arguments, that both sides know they don't have an open-and-shut case.

Today in Kew Gardens opening arguments were heard in the bench trial of State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who faces three counts of felony assault against his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo. The Daily News reports that the prosecutor accused Monserrate of flying into a jealous rage at finding another man's business card in his girlfriend's purse, and attacked her with a glass of water, saying, "You want the water? You want the water? Here's your water!", slashing her face with the broken glass.

State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who faces three felony charges related to allegations that he slashed his girlfriend's face last year, will now receive a bench trial, instead of a jury trial; jury selection was supposed begin today. Monserrate, who is a freshman Senator and who was part of the coup in Albany earlier this summer, has maintained his innocence, that a glass fell and accidentally ended up cutting girlfriend Karla Giraldo on the face. Giraldo also says it was an accident (though some hospital workers claim she indicted Monserrate may have acted purposefully)—the scar required 20 stitches to close. The NY Times notes that court documents say "Video cameras at the Jackson Heights building where Mr. Monserrate lives captured scenes of a violent confrontation between the couple." Monserrate's lawyer suggests that the video was spliced together in a damning fashion and says that Monserrate was actually trying to make Giraldo go to the hospital. Queens DA Richard Brown is confident in his office's case, "We have become leaders in successfully prosecuting domestic violence cases without the cooperation of the victim, who is so often reluctant — or fearful — to testify against her accuser."

One day in June 2007, maintenance man Robert Lopez was taking out the trash at the Cadman Towers in Brooklyn Heights when he found some fake dynamite sticks attached to a clock. "I thought it was cool," he tells the Times, and so he took it home to make a piggy bank out of it. That idea landed him in Riker's Island (where inmates called him the "Mad Bomber") and an indictment on charges of "placing a false bomb or hazardous substance," a felony that carries up to four years in prison. A transit worker had spotted him carrying the fake dynamite and called police, who arrested him outside his Fort Greene apartment. Which he no longer rents; he lost his job and he's been homeless for a month. Sometimes he cleans a McDonald's in Brooklyn. Sad enough yet? In a teary interview with the Times, he explains, "On 9/11, from my roof of my building I could see the top of the towers smoking... I’m not a terrorist. I wouldn’t hurt nobody like that. Never." The Brooklyn D.A. isn't convinced, and Lopez is due back in court on Wednesday.

State Senator Kevin Parker, who faces felony charges after assaulting a NY Post photographer, breaking his camera and bashing his car in, told reporters yesterday, "I don't think I have an anger issue. Hopefully this will be a bad memory." However, the State Police were aware of Parker's testy behavior last week when he "got out of his car at an entrance to a parking garage beneath the state Capitol complex and angrily confronted a security guard" because a gate wasn't raised, according to the Post. Parker was stripped of his leadership position as the Democrats' whip by Majority Leader Malcolm Smith; Parker said he backed Smith's decision, "It was the right thing to do. My personal problems cannot be a distraction to the Senate. We have a lot of work to do between now and the end of session." The Brooklyn lawmaker has previously attended anger management class for punching a traffic agent and was accused of choking and breaking the glasses of a female staffer.

State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) will be arraigned today on felony assault charges. He is accused of assaulting his girlfriend Karla Giraldo with a broken glass, leaving with her a black eye and a gash that required 20 stitches. And it seems that his colleagues are allowed to chip in for his legal expenses.

Governor Paterson signed legislation making any assault on traffic enforcement agents a possible felony. The Sun reports that previously, an assault on traffic agent was a misdemeanor (up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines), but now the felony charge could bring 7-8 years in jail. One traffic agent told NY1, "I came out my vehicle to issue a summons, I started and the motorist came out his car and punched me on my head." Police Commissioner Ray Kelly added, "The message here is clear: If you touch a traffic enforcement agent, you go to jail."

Everyone's favorite laxative cake bakers, three Brooklyn School for Global Studies students, got some good news yesterday: Though initially charged with felonies for giving their teachers and other staffers a cake spiked with Dulcolax (it was supposed to be a prank, but many went to the hospital in pain), the Brooklyn DA's office lowered the charges to misdemeanors, saying, "The injuries were minimal." The Daily News reported one student cried after being chased by photographers, prompting of the her victims to say, "Good. From what I'm hearing elsewhere it's all been a big joke to them so far." The students still face possible jail time.

The two women who are accused of stealing from open houses are looking for deals from the prosecutors.

A former math teacher at MS 190 in Forest Hills was arrested for child endangerment after allegedly sending former and present male students lewd instant messages. Bradley Dieffenbacher, 33, of Long Island, had worked at MS 190 since 2000 until his resignation on February 14, when investigators confronted him.

Should a soldier who served in Afghanistan be able to join the police force? Well, not in New York City, when the soldier in question has a previous gun possession convictions The New York Times looks at a machine gun-wielding active duty soldier who can't apply to the NYPD when he returns home.