By Rebecca Henely
Murders in the 110th Police Precinct dropped to four last year from six in 2009, continuing a downward trend that has been in effect since 1990, according to crime statistics compiled by the Police Department.
The precinct also recorded a decrease of about 4 percent in overall major crime.
As of Dec. 26, there had been four homicides in Elmhurst and Corona, the neighborhoods covered by the 110th Precinct. While this was a minor drop compared to the six people killed in 2009, the precinct has seen murders decline significantly compared to 20 years ago. In 1990, 36 people were killed in the precinct. That number has steadily fallen to 29 murders in 1995, 11 in 1998 and nine in 2001.
The year’s first homicide to hit the headlines took place in March, when 27-year-old Brooklyn resident Allen Shannon allegedly beat his Corona girlfriend’s infant daughter, 19-month-old Aniyah Levant, while he was baby-sitting, causing injuries that led to her death, according to the Queens district attorney’s office. Shannon was later arraigned on murder charges and held without bail, the DA said.
In July, 24-year-old Juan Paucar and 23-year-old Brandon Perez were charged with manslaughter for allegedly chasing 41-year-old Corona resident Jose Cortez out of a restaurant on a National Street corner and beating him until he died, police said.
The most recent slaying took place on the last day of November. Percel Wright, a 19-year-old suspect in a 2009 robbery, was shot and killed in an unrelated incident near his sometime home in LeFrak City, police said. Police have made no arrests in that case.
Crimes decreased overall in the 110th Precinct by about 3 percent, with 1,625 incidents as of Dec. 26, 2010 vs. 1,675 at the same time in 2009.
Of the crimes that did increase, robberies saw the largest jump, with 359 occurring last year compared to 328 in 2009 — a more than 9 percent increase. Felony assaults also went up by more than 3 percent from 243 to 251 and grand larcenies autos went up from 140 to 146 by more than 4 percent.
Besides murder, the crime that saw the largest drop by percentage was rape, with 28 taking place in 2010 compared to 32 in 2009, a more than 12 percent decrease. Burglaries also decreased by almost 7 percent to 289 from 310 and grand larcenies by 11 percent to 548 from 616.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
