crime watch

Man shot on West 103rdA pedestrian was grazed by a bullet as he was walking down the street. At 6:40 p.m. on Friday, December 15, a 30-year-old man was walking eastbound on West 103rd Street between Manhattan Avenue and Central Park West when he heard three or four shots fired from behind him in the vicinity of 19 West 103rd St. One of the shots grazed his right ear, and he ran into Central Park, where he phoned his brother, who in turn called 911. The victim was cut in his right ear and was taken to St. Luke’s hospital by an EMS team. Police searched the area but couldn’t find the shooter. Crutch CrunchPolice arrested a woman who apparently had expressed herself rather too forcefully. At 11:20 p.m. on Sunday, December 10, a 58-year-old woman living at 203 West 107th Street struck a 56-year-old male acquaintance with metal crutches, causing a lump and a small laceration on the left side of the man’s forehead. The victim refused medical attention at the scene, but Lidya M. Radin was arrested the following day and charged with harassment.

Former Girlfriend AssaultedThere may be a good reason why the man in this story is a young woman’s EX-boyfriend. At 2 a.m. on Monday, November 6, the former boyfriend of a 21-year-old woman living at 217 Manhattan Avenue poured hot water onto her private parts while she was naked, causing redness and pain. He then prevented her from leaving the bathroom, at which point she punched him around his face. He finally let her leave but grabbed her cellphone and would not give it back, causing a tussle in the bedroom during which he hit her with his knee, causing a bruise.

Teenager Set UponIn the future, one teenager may choose to take the stairs rather than the elevator in his building. At 7 p.m. on Friday, December 15, a 15-year-old man was waiting for the elevator inside 875 Columbus Avenue when he was approached by five unknown men who asked him if he was from the Douglass Houses. The victim was then punched in the face by one of the men, followed by the others, who attacked the victim, causing him to fall down and cut his hand on a broken glass bottle on the floor. The victim suffered a laceration to the palm of his right hand and bruising and swelling to his nose and upper lip. The men fled the building in an unknown direction, and the victim was later treated for injuries at St. Luke’s.

Toy Pistol-Whipped

Yet another UWS resident had a scary encounter inside his apartment building. At 3:34 a.m. on Sunday, December 17, a 34-year-old man was in the vestibule of his building at 74 West 105th Street when a 19-year-old man approached him from behind and pulled out what turned out to be a toy gun, pistol-whipping the victim and telling him to open the door to the building. The assailant then ordered the older man to walk upstairs, and when they reached the second floor he hit the victim in the head numerous times, saying, “I’m going to f-cking kill you — you afraid? I’ma f-ck you up!” The victim managed to get hold of the toy gun, ripping it out of the assailant’s hand, at which the latter fled the scene. Police searched the neighborhood and observed a man fitting the description of the defendant in front of 64 West 107th Street. The victim confirmed the suspect’s identity and was then removed to St. Luke’s hospital for treatment. The assailant was also found to be in possession of three small bags of alleged marijuana, which were recovered from his top front coat pocket. Raynier Guzman was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and related offenses, dangerous drugs, disorderly conduct, offenses against the person, and more.