Ridgewood Man Also Booked For Knifing
Collared by police last week for reportedly having a stash of heroin under the dashboard of his illegally parked vehicle, a Ridgewood man was arraigned last Thursday, Apr. 18, on assault charges for allegedly attacking his former girlfriend and her mother earlier this year, law enforcement sources said.
Police identified the suspect as 31-year-old Israel Soto of Seneca Avenue, who was arrested last Tuesday, Apr. 16, on drug possession charges by the NYPD Queens Narcotics Squad.
According to information provided by the Queens District Attorney’s office, the bust occurred at around 7:30 p.m. last Tuesday at the corner of Bleecker Street and Forest Avenue, as Soto allegedly sat behind the wheel of a 2006 Nissan Maxima parked in front of a fire hydrant.
Police officers approached the vehicle and asked Soto for his driver’s license, which he reportedly failed to produce. Further investigation by police revealed that the suspect’s license remains suspended since the action was first taken in September 2011.
After charging Soto initially for allegedly driving with a suspended license, authorities said, police secured- and later executed-a search warrant of the vehicle.
During their search, law enforcement sources noted, officers found 23 plastic bags containing quantities of heroin and over $1,800 in cash concealed in a hidden compartment located inside the dashboard.
In addition to being charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, Soto was reportedly booked later by members of the 104th Precinct Detective Squad following questioning for assaulting his former girlfriend and her mother on the afternoon of Jan. 13.
According to the criminal complaint provided by the Queens District Attorney’s office, the assault occurred at around 3 p.m. on Jan. 13 in front of a location on Wyckoff Avenue near Weirfield Street. Reportedly, Soto and his former girlfriend became engaged in a verbal dispute at the location.
Law enforcement sources said the argument turned violent when Soto began punching the woman repeatedly in the arm and back. When the woman’s mother attempted to break up the physical exchange, it was reported, Soto allegedly stabbed the mother in the right arm with a kitchen knife, then fled from the scene.
Members of the 104th Precinct responded to the scene. The mother was rushed to a local hospital for treatment of a deep puncture wound.
For the alleged assault, Soto was charged with second- and third-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of second-degree harassment. He was additionally booked on two counts of criminal contempt for violating a valid order of protection barring him from any contact with his ex-girlfriend.
Court records indicated that Soto arraigned last Thursday in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Gene Lopez, who ordered him held on $75,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on May 8.
