Highbridge News: Bad Shot Gets 25 yrs for Killing Mom

Highbridge News: Bad Shot Gets 25 yrs for Killing Mom: Bad Shot Gets 25 yrs for Killing Mom Son Pens Letter of Pain BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 11- It was a misplaced sense of loyalty tha...

Bad Shot Gets 25 yrs for Killing Mom

Bad Shot Gets 25 yrs for Killing Mom

Son Pens Letter of Pain

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 11- It was a misplaced sense of loyalty that killed an innocent bystander and has now landed 30-year-old Joseph Diaz behind bars for 25 years, following his conviction on manslaughter in the first degree, Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson announced.

Diaz’ aim was to prove his loyalty to a friend who had lost a fistfight, when he aimed a gun at the man with whom the friend had the dispute. But the shooter, who even has a tattoo of the word “Loyalty” emblazoned across his neck, had bad aim – and instead killed a young mother, Aisha Santiago.

When Diaz fired a half-dozen shots with a .45-caliber semi-automatic. He did so during the 3 o’clock hour on one of the Bronx’s busiest streets, with the sidewalks at Willis Avenue & East 146^th Street teeming with pedestrians, including mothers walking their children home from school.

The 25-year-old Santiago took a bullet straight to her heart, crumpling arms-length away from her 9-year-old son, and dying as she tried to crawl to her little boy.

That little boy, now a 14-year-old teenager, submitted a victim impact statement to the Court (in its entirety below), asking that Diaz “gets what he deserves.”

“There’s not a day I don’t think how my life would [have] been if she was still here…

“All I want is my mom back in my life and finish raising me and helping me [learn] right from wrong…”

“I never want to disappoint my mom but I’m not doing all the right things and making good decisions. But I do whatever I can possibly do to make her proud and see her smile.”

Diaz was sentenced to 25 years in prison with an additional five years post-release supervision by Supreme Court Justice Barbara F. Newman.

Highbridge News: Cops Strained?

Highbridge News: Cops Strained?: Cops Strained? NYPD Scrambles to Cover Rash of Homicides as Protests Continue By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 10- ...

Cops Strained?

Cops Strained?

NYPD Scrambles to Cover Rash of Homicides as Protests Continue

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 10- As NYPD officials are about to enjoy yet another all-time record low for homicides, but despite the cold and wet weather police reported no less than eight shootings in the first week of December-- including at least five homicides.

As uniformed officers have been diverted out of the borough by the van loads to cover the NYPD protests in Manhattan, detectives are now investigating five homicides that occurred in the last week.

On December 1, police say two men and a woman were shot outside of 1932 Jerome Avenue and all were expected to recover.

Police captured all three suspects a short distance away and two handguns were reportedly recovered at the scene.

On December 2, police say Dune Janelle Jacobs, 31, a Manhattan chef returning home from work, was shot once in the head at 1 a.m. along East 213 Street in the Williamsbridge section.

Police have made no arrests in the case and were looking for three men who were seen fleeing in a white vehicle.

At 5:30 p.m. on December 5, police say Timothy Hairston, 27, was shot several times in the chest outside of the Lincoln Care Drugs along East 165 Street in the Melrose section. Hairston died a short time later at Lincoln Hospital.

On December 6, a 14 year-old was shot along East 213 Street near White Plains Road. The victim was shot in the arm at 10 a.m. and was treated and released from Jacobi Hospital.

Police were looking for the male gunman and the female who police say took the gun after the shooting and fled in a gray Nissan Sentra.

Cops were also looking for the gunman who shot three victims outside of Club Miami on Bruckner Boulevard and Alexander Avenue in the Mott Haven section.

That incident was reported at 3:30 a.m. on December 7. EMS reported a 26-year-old man was shot in both legs. A 30-year-old man was shot in the thigh and a woman also shot, were transported to a local hospital by a civilian auto.

Investigators were looking for the gunman who was wearing black jeans, gray sweatshirt and white sneakers and who fled in a red Jeep Cherokee with a smashed drivers side window.

At just after 4 p.m. on December 8, police were called to East 168 Street and discovered a male in his 30's shot repeatedly inside his black BMW outside of the Ultimate Gas Station.

Police sources stated that two victims had been shot through the car's windshield and speculated that the killing was a "carjacking gone wrong," and investigators continue to investigate.

The second victim was also shot in the chest and was reported to be recovering at Lincoln Hospital.

Minutes later police were called to Macombs Road in the Mount Eden section, where police say Willie Lora, 21, was shot in the chest inside the building where he lived.

Lora was rushed to Bronx Lebanon where he died.

On December 8, police revealed that officers performing a wellness check found a woman dead on December 3rd, has been ruled a homicide.

Police now say that the woman identified as Cynthia Taylor, 51, had been stabbed multiple times in the torso inside her Clarke Street apartment in the Concourse section.

The medical examiner has ruled the death a homicide. Police had no suspects at this time.

Highbridge News: Bronx Political Icon Badillo Laid to Rest

Highbridge News: Bronx Political Icon Badillo Laid to Rest: Bronx Political Icon Badillo Laid to Rest By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8 - Often called a trailblazer for becoming ...

Bronx Political Icon Badillo Laid to Rest

Bronx Political Icon Badillo Laid to Rest

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8- Often called a trailblazer for becoming the first Puerto Rican  to hold the office of Bronx Borough President, as well as becoming the nation’s first Latino elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Herman Badillo has died at the age of 85.

According to his longtime friend and spokesman George Arzt, Badillo died on December 3, from complications related to congestive heart failure at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital in Manhattan.

Badillo was a young lawyer who had served as New York Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development before entering politics when he was elected Borough President in 1966.

Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970, Badillo served four terms representing New York's 21st District in the South Bronx.

In 1977, Badillo stepped down from Congress to become deputy mayor of New York City under then Mayor Ed Koch from 1978 - 1979.

Badillo ran five unsuccessful campaigns for mayor of New York City- in his last attempt he was defeated by Michael Bloomberg in 2001. Badillo would later assist in Bloomberg's reelection campaign in 2005.

In recent years, Badillo was a senior counsel for the personal injury law firm Parker Waichman Alonso.

In a prepared statement announcing Badillo's death, George Arzt stated, "He lost many elections but gained respect as a real fighter and as the nation’s highest-ranking Puerto Rican office holder."

Governor Andrew Cuomo said of Badillo, "From his tenure as Bronx Borough President to his work leading the CUNY Board of Trustees, he was a shining example of how a dedication to civil service can make a difference in the world around us."

Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., said of Badillo,"I am deeply saddened by the passing of a man whom I looked up to as a role model and who represented Latinos, Bronxites and all New Yorkers as an exemplary public servant."

Badillo was laid to rest after a private service held on December 7 at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan. He is survived by his wife Gail and son David from a previous marriage.    

Highbridge News: Biblical Beatdown

Highbridge News: Biblical Beatdown: Biblical Beatdown Man Beats Friend to Death After Coming from Church By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 3- Police a...