Having recorded just one homicide during the first six months of 2020, the 52nd precinct has since logged two additional homicides in July, both occurring within a six-day span. This equals the precinct’s homicide record for the same period last year.

In the first of the two most recent cases, as initially reported by Norwood News, police were called to 3340 Decatur Avenue between East 209th Street and East Gun Hill Road in the Norwood area of the Bronx at 11.44 p.m. on Monday, July 20. Officials reported that upon arrival, officers discovered a 24-year-old male “unconscious and unresponsive” in front of the five-story building at the reported location.

The NYPD said the victim had suffered at least one gunshot wound to the back and was rushed to Montefiore Hospital on East Gun Hill Road where he died a short time later. On Monday, July 27, police identified the victim as James Rivera, 24, of East 209th Street in Norwood. Police officials reported that there were no arrests made, nor any suspects identified in relation to the case and that the investigation remained “active and ongoing”.

On the morning of July 21, an investigator with the NYPD’s Crime Scene Unit (CSU) was observed photographing and documenting each of what appeared to be at least a dozen shell-casings on the corner of East 209th Street and Decatur Avenue. One neighborhood resident, who asked not to be identified, said, “They ran out of the signs with the numbers,” referring to the yellow numbered markers investigators typically use to document each bullet or piece of evidence.

Two neighborhood sources, who asked not to be identified, each said that the victim was allegedly running away when he was shot in the back. Crediting police sources, News 12 reported that the victim was allegedly arguing with three men when the shooting began. The news network also reported that the three men fled the scene on foot, after the shooting.

Two residents of the block said that more than a dozen rounds were allegedly fired. They also said that Rivera allegedly exchanged gunfire with the three men. One longtime resident of Decatur Avenue said, “It was the Dominican guys that hang on East 209th Street who just wanted to rob the 24-year-old guy”. The same resident added, “He pulled out a gun and shot three times, and the guys from 209th Street fired 12 times, killing him”.

A resident from East 209th Street said they doubted the July 20 shooting was in retaliation for a shooting on May 27, which took place one block over at East 209th Street and Hull Avenue, when a gunman fired at several men outside of Moronta’s supermarket.

When questioned by Norwood News about the July 20 shooting, the NYPD declined to divulge the number of rounds fired, whether Rivera returned fire, or if the shooting appeared to be gang related. Officers also declined to provide any details on the May 27 shooting at Moronta’s, or to say if the two shootings were potentially related.

Recalling the July 20 shooting, a second resident of the block stated, “I didn’t look out the window because I didn’t want to get shot. This is the Bloods’ territory,” referring to a Bronx street gang.

Though it is not clear if the resident was referring to the same gang, The New York Times reported in December 2018 that 29 suspected members of the Mac Balla Bloods gang were indicted for a smuggling operation that moved information and contraband among city jails and an upstate prison.

The network shuttled scalpel blades into lockups and organized the sale of crack cocaine and suboxone strips, which are prescribed to treat opioid addiction but were sold for $100 each inside a maximum-security prison in Pine City, N.Y., according to the indictments.

On Aug. 12, the NYPD released an update saying that pursuant to an ongoing investigation, the following four (4) individuals were arrested and charged with various crimes as follows:

Arrested #1:

Harris, Tabu

20-year-old male

3110 Bainbridge Avenue

Bronx, NY

Charges: Murder and Criminal Possession of a Weapon

Arrested #2:

Carter, Nasir

17-year-old male

2280 Bathgate Avenue

Bronx, NY

Charges: Murder, Manslaughter and Criminal Possession of a Weapon

Arrested #3:

Bell, True

16-year-old male

3322 Decatur Avenue

Bronx, NY

Charge: Murder

Arrested #4:

Santiago, Richard

20-year-old male

3864 Paulding Avenue

Bronx, NY

Charges: Murder, Manslaughter, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Reckless Endangerment

The second homicide case was reported six days later when police were called at 1:38 a.m. on Sunday, July 26 to 2575 Jerome Avenue and West 192nd Street, across the street from St. James Park in the Fordham Manor area of the Bronx. The police identified the victim as female, aged between 25 and 35.

On Monday, July 27, police formally identified the victim, a 32-year-old transgender woman known as Tiffany Harris, of East 176th Street from the Tremont section of The Bronx.

Police said that the victim was found on the third-floor hallway of the building at 2575 Jerome Avenue with one stab wound to the chest, and was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital where she died less than an hour later.

Gay City News also reported on the incident on July 27, saying in part, “Police officers found the 32-year-old victim, identified by Princess Janae Place as Tiffany Harris, unconscious with stab wounds inside the third floor hallway at 2575 Jerome Avenue shortly after 1:30 a.m Sunday morning in the Fordham Manor section of the Bronx”. Princess Janae Place is an organization that supports homeless LGBTQ adults in the tri-state area.

One resident of the building told the Norwood News, “Most of the people who come into this building don’t live here. They just come to do their business”. When asked what business, he replied, “drugs and prostitution”.

When contacted by telephone on July 27, the building’s Super, Joel Corona, said, “Day and nighttime, I lock the door. Yes, prostitution and drugs. It’s no good”. Corona continued, “The police are here and yesterday too”. He added that officers do patrol the building, but he couldn’t say if arrests were made saying, “I’m in the apartment. I don’t see what happens”.

On July 27, as reported by Norwood News, the NYPD released a photo of a person wanted for questioning in relation to Harris’s killing. The individual is described as a Black male. In the photo, he is wearing dark pants and a white t-shirt. The motive for the killing was unknown as of the time of publication. NYPD subsequently released additional video footage of the alleged suspect.

On Aug. 12, the NYPD issued an update, writing that Alpha Diallo, 21, of Sedgewick Avenue, The Bronx was arrested on charges of murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1 (800) 577-TIPS or visit their website at: www.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting “CRIMES” to 274637.

All calls are confidential.

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.