Suspect Booked For R’Wood Murder Try
Through the use of a state-of-the-art facial recognition system, police collared a Brooklyn man last Thursday, Mar. 15, who allegedly tried to kill a 39-year-old man with a shotgun blast inside a Ridgewood barber shop earlier this month, it was reported.
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Hipolito (a.k.a. Jordan) Rodriguez, 37, of MacDougal Street in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn.
As reported in last week’s Times Newsweekly, the shooting took place at around 9:05 p.m. at a barber shop located at the corner of Seneca Av- enue and Menahan Street.
According to information provided by the Queens District Attorney’s office, the 39-year-old victim was inside the salon getting his hair cut when Rodriguez-while armed with a shotgun-walked into the establishment with an unidentified, unapprehended male.
Seconds after yelling at the victim, police said, Rodriguez allegedly fired a shotgun blast that grazed the victim’s head, causing a laceration.
Rodriguez and the other suspect then reportedly assaulted the injured man, punching him about the body. During the attack, authorities noted, Rodriguez allegedly hit the man several times in the ribs with the shotgun.
Following the assault, Rodriguez and his unidentified cohort fled from the scene in an unknown direction, police stated.
Members of the 104th Precinct and EMS units responded to the scene. The 39-year-old victim was brought to a local hospital for treatment of the laceration-which required seven staples to close-and other injuries which were not lifethreatening.
During the course of their investigation, according to published reports, the 104th Precinct Detective Squad obtained a photo of the sus- pected shooter through Facebook. The image was then forwarded to the NYPD Real Time Crime Center, which has a facial recognition system that can compare any picture with the thousands of mugshots of individuals with prior arrests in the department’s database.
The crime center was reportedly able to match the Facebook photo with a mugshot of Rodriguez, who has a prior record of 12 arrests.
After obtaining additional information about Rodriguez, the suspect was picked up last Thursday by the 104th Precinct Detective Squad at a relative’s house in Brooklyn. The unidentified accomplice in the case remains at large, it was noted.
Rodriguez was charged by Det. Darryl Ebron of the 104th Precinct Detective Squad with second-degree attempted murder, first- and seconddegree assault, reckless endangerment, menacing and harassment.
According to court records, the suspect was arraigned last Friday, Mar. 16, in Queens Criminal Court before Judge John Zoll, who ordered him held on $25,000 bail. The suspect is scheduled to return to court on Mar. 30.
Sgt. Michael Ackerman of the 104th Precinct Detective Squad and Sgt. Edwin Coello of the NYPD Real Time Crime Center participated in the investigation.
