With the 22nd anniversary of the shooting death of Police Officer Edward Byrne coming up, the members of the Jamaica Rotary gathered once again to salute a good job by the NYPD.
“The Jamaica Rotary is the only club in the country, if not the world, to honor the NYPD every month,” said President Joseph Iaboni. “We recognize and respect you.”
Beginning with the 102nd Precinct, the Rotary – and Captain Armando DeLeon –recognized Sergeant Samuel Morales and Officers Zandro Rojas and Horton Tsuang, who, on Wednesday, January 20, arrested Willis Joseph in connection with 10 robberies – seven involving women – effectively closing out a pattern.
DeLeon explained that, after robbing a woman of her debit card – and forcing her to give him her PIN number – Joseph withdrew cash from a local ATM – and then decided to have breakfast at a Burger King on Atlantic Avenue.
By that point, however, said DeLeon, the perp had changed his clothes, so his victim could not identify him. A photo from an earlier robbery showed him in the same outfit, and an investigation by Morales turned up two debit cards in the establishment’s trashcan.
After being positively identified by 10 of 10 victims, Joseph then submitted a video confession.
“They [the officers] went above and beyond,” said Morales. “They thought like detectives.”
Officers Mark Costa and Mike Santos of the 103rd Precinct were the next to be honored.
On December 6, the partners were on patrol when they got a call for three robberies involving a minivan. They got in touch with the victim, canvassed the area and discovered a van with three inside. The victim proceeded to identify the perps, and the officers recovered a fake gun. The suspects were arrested for all three incidents and police also discovered that the minivan had been stolen.
For their roles in helping to halt a rash of gunpoint robberies, Officers Dominick DeStefano and Phil McManus were then awarded.
There had been six incidents with the suspect approaching the victim, asking for the time and holding them up. In one case, a female victim refused to give up her valuables, and the perp fired what cops say turned out to be a starter pistol in her direction. In another incident, the perp took a purple cell phone from a teen.
On December 19, DeStefano was flagged down by a pedestrian who said he had been held up. The cop drove him around, canvassing the area for the suspect, who was later apprehended. When he was arrested, the perp was in possession of a silver firearm and purple cell phone. He was put in a line up and positively identified five out of six times.
And for their work in preventing gang violence and getting a gun off the streets, Officers Matthew Forte and Matthew Lewis of the 113th Precinct were given recognition.
On New Year’s Eve, while on routine patrol, they witnessed a dispute at Linden Boulevard and 196th Street; following a foot pursuit, they apprehended a suspect. In 2009, say 113th Precinct officials, 54 people were shot within the command.
The day’s last order of business was the installation of three new Rotary members.
“The Rotary is a means by which to give back to the community,” said Iaboni. “These people are here to make an impact.”
