Borough-Wide Blotter
COMPILED BY LIZ GOFF
104th Precinct

Maspeth Man Charged With DWI

Police charged a 24-year-old Maspeth man with drunken driving on August 12 after he crashed his SUV into a vehicle at a traffic light near 69th Street and 54th Road at about 10:15 p.m. Police said Brian O'Neill was operating his Ford Explorer when he rear-ended another vehicle that was stopped for a red light. Police administered a Breathalyzer test to O'Neill, who blew over three times the legal limit.

105th Precinct

Principal On Firing Line

City school investigators are moving to terminate a Queens principal mired in financial and assault charges, according to DOE authorities.

Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon last week recommended termination of Shango Blake, principal of I.S. 109 in Queens Village, after an internal probe revealed that Blake is unable to account for $30.000 in funds missing from school coffers. The missing funds were earmarked for school lunches, graduation expenses and snack sales, Condon said.

The investigation also revealed that Blake assaulted a 13-year-old male student at the school, after the boy made a comment about Blake's son.

The schools spokesperson Dina Parks said officials at the Department of Education (DOE) are moving to terminate Blake but was unable to say when the firing might take place.

106th Precinct

Homeless Man Peddling Cocaine

Police arrested a 32-year-old homeless man last week after he tried to sell drugs to a passerby on a Richmond Hill street.

Boj Taray allegedly approached the passerby on Jamaica Avenue and 126th Street and offered the drugs to the passerby who refused and subsequently flagged down a passing police car. When the police approached Taray to question him about the allegation he dropped a bag containing cocaine, according to police sources.

Taray was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.

Dogs, Cats, Parrots Evicted

Until last week, Ida Hemmerich and her son, Edward, shared their Ozone Park home with 27 dogs, seven cats and four parrots.

ASPCA officials who visited the 75th Street home on July 21 said the animals were all in good health and were well cared-for, but when Edward Hemmerich fell sick and was hospitalized on August 13, his 83-year-old mother was left to do all of the work of caring for the pets, according to authorities.

When neighbors complained of a foul odor coming from the home along with "uncommon" barking by the dogs ASPCA inspectors, who entered the home on August 16, said they found the animals were still in good shape and there was plenty of pet food on hand for them but that the mother, Ida Hemmerich, was unable to walk the dogs and clean up after all the animals.

Family members offered to care for the animals but later agreed that the animals would be best off in the hands of the ASPCA.

The dogs- which included Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, Dachshunds and a 2-monthold spaniel, will be held at an ASPCA shelter until all parties decide what's best for them, authorities said.

Due to her age and health Ida Hemmerich was taken to Jamaica Hospital for observation.

The Hemmerichs were not fined nor charged with a crime.

Teen Knifes Stepdad To Save Mom

Police are continuing their investigation into the actions of a 14-year-old Ozone Park boy who grabbed a knife and plunged it into his stepfather's chest on August 15, after the man came home raging drunk and threatened to butcher the entire family, police sources said.

Law enforcement sources said the courageous teen wrested the kitchen knife away from the drunken man after he threatened to kill the whole family with it.

The 14-year-old Mohammed Nasser struggled with Arturo Moreno, 33, after Moreno came home drunk at about 9:30 p.m. and began arguing with his 45-year-old wife over family finances, according to sources.

Mohammed and his brothers and sisters, who live with their grandparents on Staten Island, were visiting their mother when the argument escalated - and Moreno picked up the knife and waved it in the woman's face.

According to neighbors, they told the police the woman called for help from Mohammed and his 13-year-old brother, and the 13-year-old ran for help from a downstairs neighbor, who called 911.

Moreno was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Mohammed was taken into custody by police but was released after questioning. Police said no charges are being filed but the investigation is continuing.

109th Precinct

Devastating Car Crash

An alcohol ridden game of cat and mouse triggered a deadly crash on a Queens highway August 16, killing a teen who survived a shooting four months ago, authorities said.

Police said the incident unfolded at about 10:30 p.m. with eight friends hanging out and drinking at "the rocks" in Little Bay Park near Fort Totten. The friends broke up into two groups at about 12:15 a.m., piling into two vehicles; a 1993 Honda Civic driven by Bolivar Camacho, 19, and a 1994 Chevrolet (Chevy) Trailblazer SUV driven by Milton Flores, 20.

According to police, the Honda and Chevy were headed northbound on the Cross Island Parkway jockeying with each other while racing at speeds above 70 mph.

As the two vehicles neared the ramp to the Whitestone Expressway, the Chevy allegedly hit the side of the Honda on a stretch of highway known as "dead man's curve," police sources said.

The impact caused Camacho to lose control of the Civic, which spun into a median and then skidded across two lanes crashing into a light pole. The Chevy rammed into the Civic and flipped over several times tossing three of its occupants onto the highway, police said.

Jonathan Reyes, 19, of East Elmhurst, was killed in the crash; Amy Koo, 16, of Jackson Heights, whose father is an New York Police Department (NYPD) sergeant, was critically injured; Koo's boyfriend, Marcus Akus, 19, is listed in critical condition at New York Hospital of Queens (NYHQ), and his pal Elder Valencia- Alzate, 23, of Elmhurst, was paralyzed from the neck down. Henry Hernandez, 19, who was riding in the SUV, is listed in fair condition at NYHQ while Flores and his passenger, Jonathan Garcia, 20, were taken to Jacobi Hospital with less serious injuries, according to the police.

Reyes' family was doubly devastated by his death, since he survived a mistaken identity shooting on April 19, police sources said.

Camacho and Flores are facing charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and vehicular assault. Flores was also charged with driving while intoxicated.

Law enforcement sources said Flores was arrested three times in Queens since last November, on weapons possession, disorderly conduct, marijuana and public drinking charges. Camacho and Flores face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.

110th Precinct

Unlicensed Driver Kills 13-year-old

A driver with a suspended license killed a 13-year-old Elmhurst honor student riding her bicycle on August 16.

Police said Carolina Hernandez was riding her bike with a friend on 57th Avenue at about 4:15 p.m. when she was struck by a pickup truck turning from Junction Boulevard. The girl died a short while later at Elmhurst Hospital Center.

The driver, Carlos Noriega-Olivia, 36, remained at the scene but was later arrested for driving with a suspended license.

It was noted that Noriega-Olivia was arrested on February 25 at Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on burglary, grand larceny and stolen property charges. He was also detained by police on April 9 for talking on his cellphone while driving and was charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.