This week, former police officer Michael Pena was sentenced to 75 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. In the Daily News today, his defense attorney Ephraim Savitt wrote a passioned op-ed about what he calls an unjust sentence: "Is there a constitutional carveout for rape charges involving a police officer? The quest for proportionality has taken a dangerous detour. It is one that neither deters criminal behavior nor promotes respect for our criminal justice system. But it’s good press and even better politics." more ›

The 24-year-old woman who was raped at gunpoint by an NYPD officer is in no hurry to relive the ordeal of another trial. You'll recall, with revulsion, that ex-cop Michael Pena was convicted of three counts of predatory sexual assault, but the jury deadlocked on the rape charge. It was unclear whether prosecutors would pursue a retrial on that charge, but sources now tell the Post that they're deferring to the victim—who is now determined to move on and put this nightmare behind her (as much as possible). more ›

The former cop who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teacher was just sentenced to 75 years to life in prison. According to the Post, this means that Michael Pena "must serve at least 75 years before even seeing a parole board." more ›

The so-called "Vaseline Bandit" has been busted. Police this morning arrested Luis Gonzalez, the 40-year-old man they say was behind a string of robberies in Inwood and Washington Heights. His MO, according to authorities, was to smear petroleum jelly on apartment door peepholes to obscure his face in case neighbors were watching before breaking locks. more ›

The trial of former police officer Michael Pena—who had been accused of raping a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—was a giant mess, to say the least. Chief among the problems was the fact that one of the three holdout jurors who refused to convict Pena of rape (but did convict him of predatory sexual assault) had ties to several prominent law-enforcement figures, but purposefully withheld that information. Finally, lawyer Lloyd Constantine admitted to the News that maybe, just maybe, he made a mistake in not admitting those ties initially: “I would have included a much longer list of names and somewhere in there would have been Cy Vance,” he said in hindsight. more ›

After a jury's indecision led to a mistrial on rape charges, the father of the victim is speaking out. The upset parent, who lives out of state, told the Post, "When things like this happen, it just makes you think twice" about moving to NYC. more ›

A Manhattan kitty recently threw such a hissy fit that its owner had to call the cops. For real. The Daily News today has the story of 2-year-old tuxedo tabby Aqua—who got so upset about something he went and threw himself through a glass window pane in Inwood. Fortunately, the fuzz collared the frisky feline before fur flew fatally! more ›

Another day, another person who is outraged and offended that former police officer Michael Pena, who had been accused of raping a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—was not convicted of rape charges. Key witness Ann Bishop, a special education teacher who testified that she witnessed Pena having sex with the victim from her bedroom window, said she couldn't believe jurors dismiss the victims own testimony as well as hers: “I know what I saw,” she told the Daily News. “I am disturbed by the fact that they didn’t come back with a guilty verdict.” more ›

More details to make your blood boil have emerged from the trial of former police officer Michael Pena, who was found guilty of three counts of predatory sexual assault for attacking a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. A juror interviewed after the judge declared a mistrial on the rape charges told the News the three holdouts didn’t take the testimony of witness Gregory Matherly seriously, dismissing him as the “skateboard witness.” “I know Greg,” said neighbor Eva Okada. “He’s not a liar. Just because he rides a skateboard doesn’t make him a liar.” more ›

We're still trying to understand exactly what happened in Manhattan Criminal Court over the past two weeks that led to former police office Michael Pena—who had been on trial for the alleged rape of a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—not getting convicted of rape, despite being convicted of three counts of predatory sexual assault. More information has leaked out about the holdout jurors: the Daily News reports that at least one juror didn't believe the victim because she could not recall the color of a car parked by the courtyard where she was attacked: “If she doesn’t remember these details, how does she know she was penetrated,” one juror said, according to their sources. more ›

For the better part of the last month, former police officer Michael Pena had been on trial for the alleged rape of a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. Jurors heard eyewitness accounts, doctors testimony, and the victim's first-hand account of being attacked—and ultimately, Pena was found guilty of three counts of predatory sexual assault. But the judge declared a mistrial on the rape charges because of a deadlocked jury. Today, everyone is trying to make sense of what happened—but one juror has vowed to not lose any sleep over the case: “This was not fun,” juror Lloyd Constantine told reporters. “This was hard work. It was difficult, painful work...There’s no law that says a jury has to reach a verdict.” more ›

Two men with a passion for the great outdoors were looking to sharpen their axe-handling skills one night earlier this month when they ran afoul of the local constabulary. Police sources tell DNAinfo that Jonathan Li, 29, of Inwood, and Salvatore Chiarelli, 26, of Brooklyn were arrested on March 4th after some skittish city slicker called 911 to report scary axe-wielding men roaming around Isham Park in Inwood. But there was no reason to panic—they were just a couple of good old boys alleviating the enervating boredom of urban living by hacking trees. more ›

He uses Vaaaaaa-seline. Cops think they've got a suspect in a series of robberies in which a prolific perp smeared Vaseline over the peepholes of his victim's neighbor's doors to cover his tracks. Police now suspect that Luis Gonzalez, 40, is the man behind the brazen crimes and are hoping to talk to him. Since September of last year police think he's hit at least 14 homes. more ›

The fiancée of Michael Pena—the 28-year-old police officer who is accused of raping a schoolteacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—told a jury that she still loved him, and planned to marry him, during her testimony yesterday. Alma Rodriguez, 24, answered defense attorney Ephraim Savitt's questions through a translator—the Dominican Republic citizen said she understood the charges against Pena, and still loved him. She also claimed that she and Pena had sex hours before the alleged rape took place. more ›

The prosecution rested their case this week against Michael Pena, a 27-year-old police officer who is accused of raping a schoolteacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. This came after testimony from the victim, a bartender who confirmed Pena was drinking heavily that evening, and a witness who saw Pena attacking the 25-year-old teacher. The witness described what she saw as "joyless" sex, and added, "It wasn't like 'let's sneak a quickie.'" Defense attorney Ephraim Savitt responded: "I'm sure it wasn't a quickie. I'm sure it was joyless, but she also didn't see exactly what happened." more ›

The trial for Michael Pena, a 27-year-old police officer who is accused of raping a schoolteacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August, began yesterday. While Pena had previously implied that it was a consensual encounter—and that he was just "cheating" on his girlfriend—his lawyer took a different strategy in his opening statements: he admitted his client deserved to go to jail. “He did in fact assault her,” defense attorney Ephraim Savitt told jurors. “All those things the People will be able to prove, because they happened...This was a terrible crime, an unforgivable crime, but it does not rise to the level of the [rape] charges." more ›

[Update Below] This week, New York City is committing mass arborcide in the name of public safety. Since Monday at least 100 trees in Isham and Inwood Hill Parks have been cut down, and more than 200 have been heavily pruned, in an attempt to make the areas safer. more ›

Adolescent extreme sports enthusiasts can no longer count on Inwood Hill Park as a training facility after the Parks Department blocked off a totally sweet slide that has injured 16 kids. According to a release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Children can fall when moving from the ladder to the slide and when descending the chute," but we're not sure that the CPSC gets the proper technique. more ›

A married Inwood couple were found dead of an apparent murder-suicide in their apartment yesterday. The bodies of Jesus Soto, 56, and Yanet Soto, 54, were found in their bedroom by the wife’s live-in daughter and her 12-year-old granddaughter about 11:20 a.m. in their apartment at 24 Arden Street. Police believe that Jesus murdered wife Yanet, then purposefully took an overdose of pills. According to the Post, Yanet was found with deep cuts on her face, which was nearly sliced from ear to ear. more ›

In late August, a 27-year-old police officer was accused of raping a woman at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan. Officer Michael Pena pleaded not guilty to charges that he forced the 25-year-old schoolteacher into a courtyard behind an Inwood building at gunpoint early that morning and raped her—he even implied it was consensual, and that he was just "cheating" on his girlfriend. Today, the arresting officer testified about Pena's state that morning: "I looked at his shield and I threw it to the ground in disgust," said Officer Timothy Kraft, according to DNAInfo. more ›

When does prank calling stop being funny? The Jerky Boys might say when the royalties stop, and their fans might say "at age 12." But for one Inwood couple, the thrill has been gone for almost two years. Mamadou and Assetou Sy have had 155 visits from the NYPD and the FDNY on fake calls, sometimes twice a day. "We cannot understand how this could be happening," Mamadou tells the Daily News, "How can people play around with the Fire Department and the police like this?" Moe is one thing, but continually calling emergencies services is just wrong. more ›

Tolerating the noise that spills out of bars and clubs is part of the city's social compact with its residents. We get to brag about living near fantastic amenities that we scream about to 911 every other week, and the restaurants pledge to "work with communities" by blasting Sean Paul and selling $2 jello shots between 12-2 a.m. But both the UWS and Inwood locations of Papasito Mexican Grill are drawing ire usually reserved for the "UNTZ-UNTZ" establishments. "I've been here 35 years, I've seen a lot of stuff come and go," UWS resident Kevin Krajick tells DNAinfo, "This is one of the worst things that's happened to the neighborhood." more ›

A woman between Inwood Hill Park and Isham Park was violently attacked and robbed by a group of teenagers in the middle of the afternoon yesterday, a brazen act that left neighborhood residents shaken. more ›

This is one heck of a revenge plot. Rockaway Beach resident and jilted ex-girlfriend Sterrine Campbell was arrested yesterday for allegedly paying a man to put antifreeze in the gas tank of her ex-boyfriend's car. more ›

In late August, a 27-year-old police officer was accused of raping a woman at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan. Today, officer Michael Pena pleaded not guilty to charges that he forced the 25-year-old teacher into a courtyard behind an Inwood building at gunpoint early that morning and raped her. It was also revealed today that Pena, who admitted he had been drinking that morning, implied after his arrest that the encounter was consensual. more ›

Wednesday's Hair Summit with Donald Trump behind him, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry is back in New York City today to meet with 100 Hispanic business leaders in Inwood, including the head of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers Fernando Mateo. "It's something that I kept pretty quiet, because I just wanted it to happen," Mateo tells 1010 WINS, "I don't know how 1010 WINS got a hold of the information, but you did, and I'm not going to deny it." Was it the bejazzled "Rick Perry" tube top? Mateo must be STOKED that they both support racial profiling. Maybe they'll get mani/pedis? more ›