Missing Girl, 17, Likely Victim of Sex Trafficking, Located in Wakefield Motel

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. A 17-year-old girl, who police say had been reported missing from Brooklyn was located by a nonprofit representative at the Metro Motel in the Wakefield section of The Bronx on Saturday, July 23. The nonprofit representative, whose name we are not disclosing for security reasons, but who spoke with Norwood News directly about the incident, said the teen is a likely sex trafficking victim, one of millions caught up in an estimated, billion-dollar, global industry. The nonprofit works with victims and survivors

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Norwood neighbors of 35-year-old young husband and father, Nathaniel “Nate” Rivers, were still processing his sudden and tragic passing on July 21, just hours after a horrific, fatal stabbing ended his life as he sat in his car, sharing a pizza with his wife in the midst of a summer thunderstorm. His murder is one of 11 to have taken place in the 52nd Precinct so far this year, a jump of 450 percent in the precinct’s murder tally, compared to the same period last year (2). Just under two weeks later, on Aug. 2, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on June 28 that a Bronx man was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of post-release supervision for assaulting a correction officer in a Rikers Island jail. In the context of the case, Clark said, “The defendant, who was an inmate, approached the correction officer and refused verbal commands to step back, then repeatedly punched her until she was left bleeding and severely injured. If you attack a correction officer, we will hold you accountable. We had recommended a consecutive sentence but the court, over our objections, made the

By SÍLE MOLONEY

A rider of an e-bike remains in critical condition at Jacobi Medical Center following a serious collision in Throggs Neck on Saturday. The news comes just one week after the 7th Annual Bronx “Ghostbike” Memorial Ride was held, a bike tour spearheaded by Transportation Alternatives in memory of cyclists killed on the borough’s streets, and just two days before new speeding violation rules, announced in May, went into effect. Effective Aug. 1, tickets will be issued to drivers caught traveling 10 mph above the speed limit, now captured on speed cameras that are operating 24/7, following sustained calls

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Eight days after the tragic and fatal stabbing of Tracey Towers mother, Monica Akua, neighbors, community members, church friends, and elected officials gathered at the Jerome Park twin-tower housing complex to remember a beloved resident. The memorial follows a candlelit vigil, also held at the towers, in memory of Akua on Monday, July 18, organized by “We All Really Matter (W.A.R.M.)” a Harlem-based organization supporting people affected by domestic violence. Akua’s daughter, Doris, flew in from Georgia to attend the July 22 memorial and grieve along with her brother, Joel, who, we understand, lives in New York. Their

By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAVID GREENE

Extreme weather brought three thunderstorms, a heatwave and flooding during one crazy week in The Bronx which also saw a van disappear down a sinkhole in Morris Park. As reported, each of the three thunderstorms that hit The Bronx on July 18, July 21, and July 25, brought wind gusts of 60 mph and flooding. The worst flooding was on July 18, amid a reported two and half inches of rainfall, with some minor traffic chaos observed as seen in the attached video and photos. Norwood News photographer, Miriam Quiñones captured a lightning rod seemingly striking Tracey

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Police said a 29-year-old man was arrested following a stabbing at 3300 Bailey Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights. Based on the accounts of residents of the building, the incident appears to have been domestic in nature. Police said the stabbing occurred on Saturday, July 23, at around 10.30 p.m., and that Gilbert Abraham Lopez, 29, of 3044 Bailey Avenue (an address about two blocks away from the location of the assault) was arrested and charged with alleged assault, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment. Norwood News spoke with two residents, one female and one male, on condition of

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Friday, July 29, that two leaders of the “Los Sures” set of the Trinitarios gang have been found guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, 15, on June 20, 2018. In the context of the announcement, Clark said, “These men, leaders of a Trinitarios set, commanded their members to go out and commit violence. The order ended the life of a promising 15-year-old boy, Lesandro ‘Junior’ Guzman-Feliz. One of the defendants stood and watched as gang members attacked Junior with knives and a machete outside a

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and Jocelyn E. Strauber, NYC Department of Investigation commissioner (DOI), announced on Monday, July 25, that an NYC Department of Correction (DOC) captain and three DOC Officers have been charged for failing to help an incarcerated individual who had attempted suicide by hanging himself in a holding cell in Rikers Island in 2019. The inmate suffered significant brain damage. Clark said of the case, “The defendants ignored their duty as correction officers to maintain custody, care and control of the person incarcerated, by allegedly waiting nearly eight minutes until they rendered assistance to

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Crime

Missing Girl, 17, Likely Victim of Sex Trafficking, Located in Wakefield Motel

UPDATE Norwood Neighbors Mourn Tragic Death of “Very Good” Neighbor, Father & Husband, Nate Rivers

Bronx Man Gets Five Years for Assaulting NYC DOC Officer on Rikers Island

UPDATE Biker Critical after Crash a Week after Bronx “Ghostbike” Memorial Ride Held, New Speed Laws Effective Aug. 1

Memorial Held at Tracey Towers for Beloved Neighbor, Monica Akua

Extreme Weather Brings Thunderstorms, Flooding & a Heatwave in One Crazy Week

UPDATE Kingsbridge Heights: 29-Year-Old Man Arrested following Apparent DV-related Stabbing

Trinitarios Gang Leaders Found Guilty of Murder of 15-Year-Old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz

DOC Captain & Three Officers Charged with Reckless Endangerment of Rikers Island Inmate