By The TimesLedger
HOLLIS – A Hollis teen who fatally shot his brother in June while playing with a gun he found in some bushes will avoid jail time in a plea deal with prosecutors, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown’s office said Wednesday.
Romando Raphael, 16, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in the shooting that killed his brother Richard, 15, a spokesman for the DA’s office said.
Romando Raphael will receive five years’ probation and undergo psychiatric counseling and vocational training, the spokesman said. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 28.
JAMAICA – An infestation of rats has forced the city to temporarily close a firehouse in Jamaica, a Fire Department spokesman said.
More than 60 firefighters will be shifted to three nearby firehouses while the city guts Engine Co. 298 at the corner of Hillside Avenue and 153rd Street, the spokesman said.
Repairs to the firehouse will start Monday and could last for up to 10 weeks, the spokesman said.
RICHMOND HILL — An off-duty police officer was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with unlawful eviction, police said.
Officer Sam Esposito was arrested about 3:30 a.m. Sunday at an unidentified location within the 102nd Precinct, police said. He was charged with unlawful eviction, larceny and burglary, but details of the incident were unclear, police said.
Esposito was suspended from the department, police said.
JAMAICA — A 10-month-old baby girl was brought into Mary Immaculate Hospital unconscious Friday night, police said.
The cause of the baby’s condition was unknown, but police were investigating the possibility of abuse, police said.
Information on the girl’s name and address was unavailable.
SOUTH OZONE PARK — An off-duty Department of Sanitation worker was arrested last week on charges of assaulting another man during a dispute in South Ozone Park, police said.
Levon Howard, 48, allegedly fought with a 42-year-old man about 2:40 p.m. July 29 at 130-25 150th Ave., police said. Details on the cause of the fight were unavailable, but the victim was treated for a minor injury, police said.
SOUTH OZONE PARK — An employee of the city’s Business Integrity Commission was arrested Friday night on drug charges after he was allegedly seen with marijuana, police said.
Isom Harris, 45, was stopped at the corner of 111th Avenue and 134th Street about 5 p.m. Friday, police said. He was charged with criminal possession of marijuana, police said.
LAURELTON — A 23-year-old man was shot in the leg early Sunday morning at the corner of 145th Avenue and 222nd Street in Laurelton, police said.
The man, who was not identified, was shot about 3:30 a.m. Sunday by an unknown gunman, police said. He was in stable condition at Mary Immaculate Hospital.
There are no descriptions of the shooter and the investigation was continuing, police said.
LAURELTON — A 29-year-old man was in serious condition at Mary Immaculate Hospital after he was shot several times on a Laurelton corner early Saturday morning, police said.
The man, who was not identified, was shot at 149th Avenue and 230th Street at 2:17 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Serge Casimir, 27, of 139-34 225th St., was arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting, and charged with attempted murder, assault, robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
BAYSIDE – A 12-year-old girl suffered leg injuries after being hit by a car on 42nd Avenue and Bell Boulevard last Thursday, police said.
The car’s driver, Mohammed Islam of Jamaica, was picking up his daughter from the New York Academy on Bell Boulevard, Islam said.
He was making a left turn onto Bell from 42nd Avenue when the girl, also a student at the academy, ran out from behind a truck parked in front of the Gold Star Diner, said Islam.
The victim, identified by a 111th Precinct policeman at the scene as a 12-year-old girl from Whitestone, was transported from the scene in a New York Hospital Queens ambulance.
The officer said she had sustained injuries to her lower right leg.
FLUSHING — Two Queens men were arrested in Flushing Friday night when Queens narcotics officers intercepted a delivery of 700 ecstasy pills and a quantity of marijuana, police said.
Andy Martinez, 26, of 23-58 89th St. in East Elmhurst and Luigi Caminiti, 22, of 20-16 149th St. in Whitestone were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and marijuana, police said.
Officers were conducting a surveillance operation about 10 p.m. Friday when they intercepted the drugs, which were allegedly being delivered to the intersection of Farrington Street and the Whitestone Expressway, police said.
WHITESTONE — Two men posing as Con Edison workers entered a home in Whitestone, tied up the residents and stole $20,000 from them this week, police said.
At 7:42 a.m. Tuesday, the two men, wearing hard hats and Con Edison T-shirts, entered a 142nd Street home as two residents, a 21-year-old man and a 31-year-old man, slept inside, police said.
The pair tied up the residents, struck them with pistols, and stole $20,000, police said.
The two men fled with a third man, who was waiting outside and communicating with them using a walkie-talkie, police said.
The residents were treated and released at New York Hospital Medical Center Queens.
Police described the thieves as white men in their 20s. Police made no arrests and were investigating.
FLUSHING — A 57-year-old man was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at a Flushing home Monday afternoon, police said.
Police responded to a call on 156th Street just after 1:30 p.m. Monday and discovered the dead man, who was not identified.
The investigation was continuing, police said.
FLUSHING — A traffic enforcement agent assigned to the 109th Precinct in Flushing was suspended from duty after he was arrested Saturday morning, police said.
Jaime Esquivel, 35, was charged with official misconduct, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, police said. Details on the alleged crimes were not available.
FAR ROCKAWAY — Two men in their 30s were shot and killed as they were driving on Gateway Boulevard July 30, police said.
The men, who were not identified, came to a stop sign in front of 1420 Gateway Blvd. in Far Rockaway about 1:15 a.m. when two men in their 20s started shooting at them, police said. One of the men in the car died on the scene, and the other was pronounced dead at St. John’s Hospital, police said.
The investigation into the motive behind the shooting was continuing, police said.
ASTORIA — Two Long Island men allegedly attacked the owner of a construction company with a stun gun while trying to rob him in the stairwell of an Astoria building Sunday, police said.
Olivar Omar, 31, and Luis Orlana, 19, both of Roosevelt, L.I., allegedly attacked a 39-year-old man, who was not identified, inside 35-16 31st St., police said. The two allegedly approached the man and one struck him in the head with a handgun while the other assaulted him with a stun gun, police said. Omar and Orlana allegedly tried to remove money from the victim, police said.
Officers responding to a 911 call arrested the men, who were still in the building and charged them with robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and assault, police said.
The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center and was treated for a head laceration.
FOREST HILLS – Ten people involved in a two-car accident at the intersection of 77th Avenue and Queens Boulevard about 5:50 p.m. July 29, were treated and released from Mary Immaculate Hospital, said a traffic safety supervisor for the 112th Precinct.
According to the supervisor, a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban hit a 1999 four-door Lincoln sedan on the eastbound service lane of Queens Boulevard.
The driver of the Suburban was unhurt, while the 10 people in the Lincoln suffered minor injuries, the supervisor said.
ASTORIA — A 41-year-old man died after a dispute with his brother on an Astoria street Monday afternoon, police said.
The man and his brother, 45, who were not identified, were at 4-21 27th Ave. just after 2:30 p.m. Monday when they began fighting, police said. The 41-year-old fell unconscious, but there was no information on why he collapsed. He was taken to Astoria General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, police said.
The investigation was continuing.
ASTORIA — A woman in her 50s was found dead in an Astoria courtyard Tuesday and police were investigating her death.
The woman, who was not identified, was discovered in the courtyard of 31-39 33rd St. about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Details on her cause of death were unavailable.
LONG ISLAND CITY — A U.S. Postal employee was arrested and charged with prostitution last week, police said.
Latoya Malone, 23, of the Bronx, was arrested about 4 a.m. July 30 as part of a bust conducted by the Queens Vice Enforcement Squad at 27th Street and Queens Plaza South, police said.
Malone was charged with prostitution and the investigation was continuing, police said.
ASTORIA — An off-duty traffic agent was arrested at his house in Astoria Saturday night and charged with domestic assault, police said.
Kamal Mustafa, suspended from his post at Traffic Control Queens, was arrested Saturday about 5:30 p.m., police said.
Information on the alleged domestic assault and the victim was not released.
RIDGEWOOD — A 63-year-old man was found dead in a Ridgewood basement with a gunshot wound to his chest, police said.
The man was discovered in the basement of his home on 60th Street about 12:30 p.m. Monday, police said. The medical examiner was to determine the cause of death and the investigation was continuing.
ASTORIA — A supervisor for the city’s Department of Finance was arrested after he was pulled over and charged with possession of marijuana, police said.
Alvin Palmer, 41, was stopped at the corner of Hoyt Avenue and 21st Street about 3:30 p.m., but the reason was unclear, police said.
He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, police said.
CORONA — An Hispanic man was found dead on the Long Island Rail Road tracks in Corona last week, police said.
The man, who was not identified, was discovered on the rails of the Port Washington branch at 44th Avenue and 114th Street July 30 at 5:30 a.m., police said.
The medical examiner was to determine the cause of death, and the police were continuing their investigation.
