East 5th Street remains blocked off after threat against the 9th Precinct

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Multiple readers have told us that East Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue has been closed since this morning. Only residents are allowed onto the block.

Word on the street is that there was some kind of threat made against the 9th Precinct, which sits mid-block.

That'a all we've heard at the moment.

The NYPD and other police departments in the United States and elsewhere have reportedly been on alert since an ISIS threat from last September recently resurfaced.


[Photo via EVG reader Perri Silver]

[Updated] Report: Murder suspect's mother says her son was high on Molly at the time of attack

[Photo last night by Frank Franca]

The mother of Jamie Pugh, the 20-year-old suspect in the beating death of 68-year-old Ruan Wen Hui, told DNAinfo today that someone slipped the club-drug Molly into his drink last Friday evening while partying.

"He wasn't in his right state of mind," Charlotte Pugh-Douglas said before her son's arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court today.

Police arrested Pugh early yesterday morning. He has reportedly been charged with second-degree murder, robbery and assault.

Per the report in DNAinfo:

Pugh didn’t even know about the attack until one of his friends showed him the chilling surveillance footage over the weekend and said the attacker looked like him.

"When he saw the video, it killed him inside. It hurt him. He was crying all weekend. He knows it's him. He just didn't remember," Pugh-Douglas said.

Hui, a retired garment worker who lived on Avenue C and East Seventh Street with his wife, died from his injuries Saturday night. He had just dropped off his two granddaughters after a trip to a nearby playground when the attack occurred.

Police have said that it was an attempted robbery. Pugh has prior arrests for robbery and drugs, according to published reports.

Updated 9:06

CBS New York reports that a judge ordered Pugh to be held without bail.

Per CBS:

As the victim lay dying on the sidewalk, Pugh allegedly continued down the street and yelled, “This is my block,” police said.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: East Village resident dies from injuries sustained in brutal attack (25 comments)

[UPDATED] Reward for info on East 6th Street assault; plus video of the attack (34 comments)

[Updated] Family mourns Ruan Wen Hui as police hunt suspect in deadly assault on E. 6th St.

Perp walk at the 9th Precinct for suspect charged in deadly beating of 68-year-old Ruan Wen Hui

Early this morning, police arrested 20-year-old Jamie Pugh in connection with the deadly beating of 68-year-old Ruan Wen Hui. Pugh has reportedly been charged with second-degree murder, robbery and assault.

Tonight, Pugh was led out of the the 9th Precinct on East Fifth Street in front of the assembled media…





Hui, a retired garment worker who lived on Avenue C and East Seventh Street with his wife, died from his injuries Saturday night. He had just dropped off his two granddaughters after a trip to a nearby playground when the attack occurred.

Police have said that it was an attempted robbery. Pugh has prior arrests for robbery and drugs, according to published reports.

Photos by Frank Franca.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: East Village resident dies from injuries sustained in brutal attack (25 comments)

[UPDATED] Reward for info on East 6th Street assault; plus video of the attack (34 comments)

[Updated] Family mourns Ruan Wen Hui as police hunt suspect in deadly assault on E. 6th St.

NYPD's Interactive Map lets you track crimes block by block

In case you haven't seen the interactive map that the NYPD released this past weekend…

As Gizmodo noted:

The map sticks to the major New York State felonies: Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Rape, Robbery, Felonious Assault, Burglary, Grand Larceny and Grand Larceny Motor Vehicle. Though the site uses data available on the NYPD website, it was developed by Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

You can check out the map here for overall trends in crime by Precinct … and by address…

Here's a snapshot of our own 9th Precinct from January through October of this year…



The map also has a zoom-in to see where, roughly, each crime was committed…



Overall, according to 9th Precinct statistics, crime is down in the major categories by 76 percent from 1990 to 2012. (Find that PDF of the stats here.)

[H/T to EVG readers Creature and RyanAvenueA]

Suspicious characters at the National Night Out Against Crime

Goggla shared this photo from this evening's annual National Night Out Against Crime outside the 9th Precinct on East Fifth Street...

Meanwhile, on Facebook, Slum Goddess has (understandably!) posted 87 photos of the police officer on stilts...

NYPD looking for suspect who groped 9-year-old girl in the East Village Sunday afternoon

The NYPD released the above sketch of a man who allegedly groped a 9-year-old girl on the buttocks about 4:45 p.m. within the 9th Precinct, DNAinfo reported. (Police did not divulge the location of the incident.

Per the report:

The suspect is believed to be in his 30s or 40s, weighs about 240 pounds, and is approximately 5-foot-9-inches tall, police said. He is described as having black hair with grey streaks, cops said. He was last seen wearing blue long-sleeve shirt, dark jeans, and white metal wire-rimmed glasses.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).

Report: Cop pleads guilty to stealing guns from the 9th Precinct

Nicholas Mina, the cop who reportedly stole guns from lockers at the 9th Precinct on East Fifth Street, pleaded guilty today.

Per the Daily News:

The 32-year-old officer agreed to serve 15 ½ years in state prison, avoiding the 20 year maximum sentence, for being part of a large drug and gun ring.

The four-year veteran of the NYPD was reportedly hooked on prescription drugs, and gave four stolen guns and a bulletproof vest to his drug dealer to pay off debts.

Mina is expected to be sentenced on Nov. 7.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Former Internet millionaire part of 9th Precinct gun heist story

[Image via New York Songlines]

How does the 9th Precinct fare in handing out quality-of-life summonses?

You may have seen this earlier today over at Gothamist... Last year, the NYPD issued 348,851 "pink slip" summons for a variety of quality-of-life infractions, including open container, public urination and riding a bike on a sidewalk. (And maybe all three at once!)

Now, students at the Columbia School of Journalism complied all these offenses by precinct/neighborhood... you can find the results in The New York World, including a cool interactive map.

How did we fare at the 9th Precinct? The neighborhood didn't even rate in the top of any category. For instance, the 90th Precinct (Williamsburg) issued the most summonses for open container last year with 6,192. The 9th Precinct had 1,626 ... How about public urination? Top: 115th Precinct in Queens with 1,808; 9th Precinct, 224.

Wonder how the 9th Precinct would have faired with summonses for woo?

[The New York World]

Report: Former Internet millionaire part of 9th Precinct gun heist story

The story of the officer who allegedly stole guns from a locker room at the 9th Precinct on East Fifth Street is getting really, well, fucked up, for lack of a better description on a Saturday morning.

According to published reports, the officer, Nicholas Mina, is addicted to prescription painkillers. He reportedly stole the weapons to pay a drug debt to a Queens drug and gun dealer, prosecutors said yesterday.

Police also arrested Ivan Chavez, described by Assistant District Attorney Chris Prevost as "a prolific and daily drug dealer" of heroin, oxycodone and other prescription drugs, as the Post reported.

That's one part of the story. Also involved in all this is Jennifer Sultan, who along with her boyfriend Adam Cohen, sold their Web streaming-media company Live On Line for a reported $70 million in 2000.

The couple is now penniless, living in a 10-room penthouse with a private elevator on East 17th Street. They have filed for Chapter 11, per the Post.

However, the NYPD also arrested Sultan for, as prosecutors said, pulling "large-scale drug deals" with Chavez in Queens. From the Post: "Prosecutors said cops found at least 60,000 pain pills that Sultan had sold in Chavez's Woodhaven apartment when they raided it on Thursday."

You can read the rest of the Post article here ... and the piece from the Times is here.

Meanwhile, I'll await the piece in Vanity Fair this fall about how this $70 million Internet couple lost it all.

An article on the upcoming summer in the Hamptons from May 2000 in the Observer noted that Cohen and Sultan rented a $400,000 house in Quogue with 11 bedrooms. They also had a pool installed for $35,000. Said the broker about the couple: "There are people who just don't know what to do with [their money]."

Report: Cop arrested in 9th Precinct gun theft

The NYPD arrested a fellow cop last night on charges that he was breaking into lockers at the 9th Precinct on East Fifth Street and stealing guns that were sold on the street, the Post reports today.

Alleged gun-trafficking officer Nicholas Mina, 31, boosted four 9mm firearms from the seventh-floor locker room at the Ninth Precinct in the East Village, a law-enforcement source said yesterday.

Mina — a six-year veteran who worked midnight patrol tours — was assigned to guard the lockers as part of a 24-hour security detail created by department brass after the embarrassing thefts began in February.

The NYPD also arrested three civilians involved with the thefts, the Post notes.

Previously.

[Image via New York Songlines]

Report: Officers now patrolling 9th Precinct locker room

A few weeks ago, the Post reported that someone has stolen four 9mm handguns, two bulletproof vests and other items from a locker room at the Ninth Precinct in recent months.

Today, the Post says that department officials have "assigned an around-the-clock security detail" to the locker room, which is inaccessible to anyone walking in the station's East Fifth Street entrance.

Per the Post: "The city is worried about keeping crime down on the streets, but they can't even control it in their own precincts," one source fumed.

Report: Police guns stolen from 9th Precinct

Since February, someone has stolen four 9mm handguns, two bulletproof vests and other items from a locker room at the Ninth Precinct, the Post reports today.

Despite an Internal Affairs investigation, the thefts have continued, usually during the night shift at the station on East Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

"Whoever is doing this is pretty ballsy. I can’t believe the department, especially the Internal Affairs Bureau, isn’t taking this more seriously," an unnamed source tells the Post.

The NYPD believe it us an inside job — the room is inaccessible to anyone walking in off the street, the Post notes. And nearly 180 people work in the station house.

And how is the thief penetrating the lockers?

"If you just bang on the lockers they pop open," said one source.

[Image via New York Songlines]

Report: 9th Precinct adding more cops to crack down on nightlife-related problems

Capt. John Cappelmann, the 9th precinct's new commanding officer, told residents that eight to 10 officers would join his ranks next month to help crack down on nightlife-related problems, DNAinfo reported.

During a Community Council meeting Tuesday night, "Cappelmann said he was responding to concerns he has heard from East Village residents since taking over the command about a month ago. Many residents turned out for Tuesday night's meeting to complain about noise and unruly crowds emanating from the neighborhood's densely packed bars."

He said that he'd assign the extra officers to the midnight conditions and midnight anticrime teams. (And how about a Sunday Brunch conditions team?)

Is the 9th Precinct for rent?

Oh, probably not! But this Streeteasy listing gave us a jolt (and laugh!) of sorts... It's a rental (one bedroom, one bathroom!) at 323 E. Fifth St. For $20,000. Then you start looking at the details...

The 9th Precinct is at 321 E. 5th St. ... the building directly to the east is 325 ... This listing is certainly a mistake of some kind... Or maybe the city is renting out some of the extra space to help close the budget gap...

9th Precinct community topics: Diablo Royale, bike lanes

I commend anyone who takes the time to attend the various community meetings... and Jill did so last night at the 9th Precinct's Monthly confab....

A few highlights via Blah Blog Blah:

• "There was a complaint about Diablo Royale, the crowds, noise and violations of their agreement to not use the backyard after 11pm."

• "There was discussion about the bike lanes on 1st and 2nd Avenues. The police explained that they are distributing pamphlets and issuing summons to everybody who isn't following the rules".

Lordy, we may have to issue rewards to anyone who receives one of these pamphlets... In fact, I may set my bike on fire while riding on the sidewalk up and down Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue just to get one...

Reminders tonight: the Ninth Precinct Community Counsel meeting

The Precinct is between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Previously on EV Grieve:
NYPD hosting meeting between Sin Sin and neighbors tonight

East Village noise wars new battlefront: Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge

Why the president of the East Fifth Street Block Association carries a baseball bat

'The neighborhood will not rest until you are gone and Sin Sin’s license is revoked'

Police beat

As the sign shows, the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue held an event for the community featuring games for kids, free pens and pencils from the DA's office, safety tips and cops on stilts.

Oh, I didn't ask them about this. Or this.