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Looking Back on 2023: Advancing in Criminal Justice and Community Outreach  

Happy New Year!

I hope 2024 has begun positively for you. I am humbled and honored to serve you for a third term, to catalyze positive change in the borough I love.

I bring to you some major highlights of 2023. My Office is committed to making the Bronx a safer place to live and work.

In service,

DA Clark

With the support of our community and government partners, the Bronx headed in the right direction in 2023. We saw a decrease in complaints reported for Murder, Shooting Incidents and Shooting victims.  

You can learn more about the statistical changes for crime in the Bronx by checking out our recently launched Data Fact & Insights section on our website. 

In 2023 the Bronx District Attorney’s Office attained justice for the families of three crime victims whose tragic cases had touched people far beyond the Bronx.

FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo

On April 26, 2023, Jose Gonzalez was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of FDNY Emergency Medical Technician Yadira Arroyo on March 16, 2017, a mother of five and a 14-year EMT veteran.

Angellyh Yambo 

On September 15, 2023, Jeremiah Ryan, 18, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree Murder in the fatal shooting of Angellyh Yambo, 16, outside her high school on April 2023. 

Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz

On January 13, 2023, six members of the “Los Sures” set of the Trinitarios gang were sentenced to prison for their roles in the 2018 fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Lessandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, which brought the case to a final close.

The advancements in DNA technology have become a critical crime-solving tool for cold cases. In 2023, our Office utilized cutting-edge DNA technology to solve rape cases. This would not have been possible without a three-year $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance that helped our Office fund Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG). Our case marked the first time in New York that IGG was used to solve cold case rapes. 

• Florida Man Indicted in NY’s First Use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy to Solve Cold Case Rapes

• Florida Man Sentenced to 20 Years to Life in Prison for the Murder of Bronx Woman in 2000

In 2023, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office hosted a number of community events that brought Bronxites together to find information and supportive resources, and create awareness. These included our annual Child Safety Fair, 5K Run/Walk/Roll to End Domestic Violence, March to End Gun Violence, Youth Summit, and Reentry Fairs.

Cracking down on the prevalence of fentanyl drug operations in the Bronx and the city took on new urgency upon the tragic death of 20-month -old Nicholas Dominici. Nicholas died from fentanyl exposure at a Bronx home day care that allegedly operated as a front for drug dealers. Three other babies' lives were saved by administered narcan. On October 5, 2023, our Office indicted the operator of the daycare, her husband and his cousin for Murder and Attempted Murder.

BXDA Detective Investigators began working with NYPD and the Department of Investigations to look into the 328 licensed residential daycare centers in the Bronx for any nexus between these locations and illegal narcotics activity.

• Bronx Daycare Provider, Her Husband & His Cousin Indicted for Murder, Manslaughter in Fentanyl Poisoning of 22-Month-Old Nicholas Dominici



• Three Men Indicted for Operating Bronx Fentanyl Mill; $300K in Drugs, Loaded Gun Recovered

Construction workers’ safety and contractor fraud became big priorities for the Office last year. 

Our Office has designated a special ADA to head the Construction Fraud Prosecution Initiative, which investigates wage fraud and work site safety, with the aim of focusing cases on the victims, not just the corruption.

It was started after we charged three contractors in May with Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide in the death of a construction worker at a Bronx building site in 2019. Segundo Manuel Huerta, 46, was crushed by 1,000 pounds of cinder blocks placed on a third floor platform with unsecured joists.

District Attorney Clark also met with union leaders in the construction industry to discuss ways to prevent construction industry related crimes. 

The Bronx District Attorney’s Office has been working hard to reduce gang activity in the Bronx, working alongside the NYPD.  On September 21, 2023, District Attorney Clark and New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban announced that 12 “5zzly” were indicted  for Murder, Attempted Murder, Conspiracy, and additional charges for multiple shootings across the Bronx, some of them with children and other passersby in the line of fire.

In January 2023, nine men between ages 21 to 27 years old “graduated” from the Bronx Osborne Gun Accountability & Prevention (BOGAP) Program, a first-of-its-kind program of the Bronx DA’s Office and the Osborne Association. Seven more participants completed the program by the end of the year.

In the Bronx, sexual exploitation in the commercial sex trade is the most prevalent form of human trafficking. Our Human Trafficking Unit has helped dismantle human trafficking operations and provide victims with the resources they need to reclaim their lives.

• Alleged Pimps, Former Hotel Employees Charged in Child Sex Trafficking, Prostitution Enterprise

District Attorney Clark met with local business leaders to hear their concerns and to strategize retail theft prevention. Our Office has eight designated ADAs in our General Crimes Bureau who deal with recidivists (people who may have 10 or 20 incidents). Our approach is to add the theft up, so that when it totals more than $1,000 we are then able to make a Grand Larceny charge and can indict them and ask for bail.

Our Office also has a non-trespassing agreements with some stores. This means if the retail-theft recidivist enters the store again after being charged, our Office can then charge them with third-degree Burglary. 

Our Crime Strategies Bureau is working to identify the current top 20 recidivists in the borough.

In May 2023, District Attorney Clark met with Mayor Adams and other elected officials to combat retail theft across the city.

District Attorney Clark urges businesses to enroll in the BronxCams program, an initiative where business owners can voluntarily list their cameras on a confidential database so that when a crime is committed, our Office can contact the owner to use the footage as evidence to prosecute the crime. 

• FDNY Firefighter Indicted for Stealing Credit Cards From Deceased Patient During EMS Call

• NYC DOC Officer Indicted for Falsifying Suicide Training Completion for 74 Correction Officers

• NYC Department of Correction Officer Indicted for Evidence Tampering on Rikers Island

• ACS Employee at Horizon Juvenile Center Indicted For Stealing $6,600 in Pay for Hours He Didn't Work