By Karen Frantz
Some categories of violent crime were down in the 106th Precinct in 2012 from the year before, while the number of property crimes went up, according to police statistics.
In 2012, there were two murders in the 106th, which covers Ozone Park and parts of Howard Beach. That number was half as many as the murders that occurred in 2011.
One of the precinct’s 2012 victims was Brian Weiss, 31, of Davie, Fla., who police said was shot by Gary Zalevsky, 47, of Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., in an apparent murder-suicide in a hotel near John F. Kennedy International Airport in May.
The two men were sitting with four others in a private room in the Hilton Garden Inn when Zalevsky stood up and fired five rounds into Weiss’ head and then turned the gun on himself, police said. The other men fled the scene, but police apprehended them soon after.
Another victim was 22-year-old Boutin Williams, who was shot outside of the Ozone Park club Flirt in August, police said. Witnesses said they believed Boutin was fighting with other men inside the club and police released an image of a suspect that appeared to be taken from a security camera inside a bar.
Although Williams’ friends had put him him in a car to rush him to the hospital, they were pulled over by police and EMS pronounced him dead at the scene, authorities said.
The precinct also reported a decrease in the number of rapes and felony assaults in 2012 compared to the year before, with reported rapes falling to 16 from 18 and felony assaults at 193, down from 221.
The number of robberies reported last year was up 16 percent in 2012, however, at 310 from 267.
Some property crimes also crept up in 2012 from 2011. Burglary crimes, numbering 371, were also up 12 percent from 331 in 2011 and grand larcenies jumped 28 percent from 2011 to 485 from 378.
The only property crime category that fell last year were auto thefts, with grand larceny auto crimes dropping to 221 from 324 the year before.
Reach reporter Karen Frantz by e-mail at kfrantz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
