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On February 9, 2023, Nine Rikers Island inmates were indicted on assault charges for carrying out a vicious attack against six other inmates in the jail using makeshift weapons, leaving them bloody. On August 18, 2022, inside the George R. Vierno Center, the nine defendants, who are allegedly Bloods gang members, began fighting with six other inmates, who are alleged to be Mac Balla gang members. The defendants then cornered the six inmates next to the housing area’s entrance door and assaulted them with knives fashioned from plexiglass, and hit them with metal pipes, pieces of metal, metal food trays, metal electrical boxes on ropes, a pen with an attached razor and other items. The attack lasted for approximately 15 minutes and ended when emergency response officers entered the housing area. The attack was captured on surveillance video. The defendants are due back in court on May 24, 2023.
On February 3, 2023, Christopher Gonzalez, 41, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the strangulation murder of a 19-year-old Bronx woman in a Van Nest apartment in 2000. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to second-degree Murder. He had raped and strangled the victim with a telephone cord. In 2017, police technology linked his fingerprint and DNA evidence collected to the Bronx crime scene. The DNA of the defendant, who had been living in Naples, Florida, was also a match for a 2005 cold case murder in Westchester County.
On January 24, 2023, Yves Phillipe, 26, was indicted on Attempted Rape, Criminal Sexual Act, Coercion and additional charges for allegedly coercing a girl for three years, starting when she was 11 years old, culminating in sex abuse. The defendant pretended to be a girl of the same age and connected with the victim over social media. When the girl met up with him and realized he was an adult man, Philipe allegedly continued to pressure her until he sexually abused her and attempted to rape her.
On January 19, 2023, Steven Solano, 25, was sentenced to six years in prison for robbing and brutally assaulting an autistic man inside his apartment building lobby. He punched the victim more than 20 times in the face while robbing him. The assault has affected the victim’s vision and caused psychological effects.
On January 17, 2023, three NYC Department of Correction Officers were indicted for Falsifying Business Records, Official Misconduct and related charges for allegedly making false and misleading reports after one of the Correction Officers allegedly struck a Rikers Island inmate. An investigation found that Officer Carl Williams, 31, entered the housing area of the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on October 14, 2021. Williams spoke with an inmate whose hands were at his own sides and was allegedly observed on surveillance video striking the man in the face and taking a fighting stance. The investigation found that the defendants allegedly submitted reports to the Department of Correction claiming the inmate was the aggressor and that use of force was justified.
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