About Ernest Johnson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 26, 2016

Brooklyn Man Convicted of Murder in Death of Williamsburg Landlord
During Botched Robbery and Kidnapping

Defendant Faces Up to 25 Years to Life in Prison

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 29-year-old Brooklyn man has been convicted for his participation in the kidnapping and murder of Menachem Stark, 39, on January 2, 2014.

District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant waited for Menachem Stark outside of his office and forcibly kidnapped him, killing him in the process. As a result, his wife and seven children were robbed of their husband and father. The jury has now held him accountable for his actions.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Kendel Felix, 29, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He was convicted of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree murder following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Alexander Jeong. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on October 19, 2016.

The District Attorney said that Stark was approached and accosted on the street by Kendel Felix and another individual as he left his office located at 331 Rutledge Street, in Williamsburg, on January 2, 2014 at approximately 11:30 p.m., according to trial testimony and surveillance videos. After an extended physical struggle with those individuals, Stark was forced into a waiting vehicle and abducted from the location.

On January 3, 2014 at approximately 4 p.m., approximately 17 hours after the kidnapping, Stark’s body, which had been partially burned, was discovered by Nassau County Police in a garbage dumpster at a gas station located in Great Neck, Long Island.

According to trial testimony, including his own confession, the defendant did construction work for Stark and he and others suspected in the murder believed that Stark owed them money. They kidnapped him with the intention of robbing him, but Stark resisted and was killed when one of the kidnappers sat on his chest. They then drove out to Nassau County to dispose of the body, throwing it in a dumpster, throwing gasoline on it and setting it on fire.

The Nassau County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Stark and determined the cause of death to be asphyxia by compression of the neck and chest.

The investigation into the other participants is ongoing.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Howard Jackson and Senior Assistant District Attorney Emily Dean, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Christopher Blank, Bureau Chief, of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, under the supervision of Kenneth Taub, Chief of the Homicide Bureau.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 26, 2016

Former East Williamsburg Assistant Principal Convicted of
Raping Former Student

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 47-year-old Queens man has been convicted of third-degree rape for abusing a former student at Progress High School for Professional Careers, in East Williamsburg, where he served as an assistant principal.

District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant was an assistant principal who violated the trust of a vulnerable teenager when he coerced her to engage in an unwanted sex act using her immigration status as leverage. This young woman had the courage to speak out against this abuse. He’s now been held accountable for his deplorable actions.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as William Abreu, 47, of Jamaica, Queens. He was convicted today of third-degree rape following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice. The defendant faces up to four years in prison when he is sentenced on November 29, 2016.

The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, between June 17, 2009 and July 31, 2009 the victim—then a 17-year-old recent graduate of Progress High School—worked in the defendant’s school office during the 2009 summer school session. The defendant began making inappropriate sexual advances to the teenager. Aware of the victim’s status as an undocumented immigrant, the defendant threatened to contact immigration authorities if she did not comply and then proceeded to grope and rape her. The defendant further threatened immigration action if the victim did not continue to work for him.

The defendant was fired by the New York City Department of Education in November 2013.

The case was referred to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office by the New York City Department of Investigation’s Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kevin O’Donnell, of the District Attorney’s Special Victim’s Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Chief.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 23, 2016

Williamsburg Man Convicted of Gang Assault

Was Part of Group that Punched and Kicked Victim on Brooklyn Street,
Leaving him Blind in One Eye; Connected to Assault through DNA Evidence

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 24-year-old man from Williamsburg, Brooklyn was convicted of gang assault and related charges for his role in the brutal beating of Taj Patterson, a young man who was walking in the street when he was set upon by over a dozen people.

District Attorney Thompson said, “Today’s verdict is a testament to our determination to fully prosecute this case based on the evidence, which clearly connected this defendant to the crime. I hope that this outcome will bring a measure of comfort to Mr. Patterson and his family.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Mayer Herskovic, 24, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He was convicted today of second-degree gang assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and menacing following a bench trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on December 1, 2013, at about 4:40 a.m., Taj Patterson was walking on Flushing Avenue in Williamsburg when a man, later joined by other men, started to chase him. The victim ran, but the group, eventually comprised of 15 to 20 men, caught up to him near the corner of Flushing Avenue and Spencer Street.

The victim was then punched, kicked, stomped and had his eye poked by members of the group, according to testimony. He suffered facial fractures, retinal damage and lost eyesight in his right eye.

In the course of the attack, the evidence showed, a sneaker worn by the victim was stripped off his foot and thrown onto the roof of an adjacent building. DNA recovered from that sneaker matches the defendant’s.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Bureau Chief of the District Attorney’s Trial Bureau III, Grey Zone, and Assistant District Attorney Tyear Middleton, also of the Grey Zone.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Two Former Employees of Brooklyn Nonprofit Indicted for Stealing
Approximately $17,000 from Nonprofit and Immigrant Clients

Allegedly Embezzled Fees, Altered Records and Charged Clients for Services Not Performed

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that two former employees of a Sunset Park nonprofit that provides free and low-cost immigration services have been indicted for stealing approximately $17,000 from the nonprofit and at least five clients seeking assistance.

District Attorney Thompson said, “These defendants not only preyed upon and stole from vulnerable people seeking help, they also undermined the valuable work of a local organization trying to provide much-needed services to Brooklyn’s immigrant community.”

The District Attorney identified the defendants as Nancy Robayo, 50, and her daughter, Elisa Lascano, 33, of Brooklyn. The defendants are variously charged in a 12-count indictment with first-degree scheme to defraud, first-degree falsifying business records, two counts of third-degree grand larceny, three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and two counts of petit larceny. Nancy Robayo is charged with three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. Robayo was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun. Lascano was arraigned on September 7, 2016. Both defendants were released without bail and ordered to return to court on November 2, 2016.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, between November 2014 and February 2016, the defendants allegedly acted together to steal at least $7,000 from the Juan Neumann Center, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help, and defraud its clients of another $10,000. Both defendants were employed by the center – Robayo as a book keeper and Lascano in a clerical position.

Furthermore, according to the investigation, in the alleged $7,000 theft, the defendants stole parts of fees collected from clients for immigration services provided at the center. The defendants also allegedly defrauded at least five clients of approximately $10,000 by taking payments the clients made for services they believed were going to be provided by the center. In some cases, the defendants allegedly didn’t provide the promised service. In other cases, they either overcharged clients for services, keeping some or all of the money, or they charged for services that the center provided for free and kept some or all of the money.

The defendants’ duties and responsibilities at the center included collecting payments, maintaining receipt books and submitting immigration forms to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. The defendants allegedly concealed their theft by altering amounts written on carbon copies of receipts, misreporting the amounts written on the receipts, maintaining separate receipt books hidden from the center and warning their clients to speak only with them and to no other employees regarding their petitions and applications.

The alleged theft and fraud were discovered when another employee at the center was reviewing records and found that more than $7,000 in client receipts was not recorded in the log books and was missing from the center’s bank account. Robayo later turned herself in to the police and admitted to stealing approximately $7,000.

The District Attorney thanked Camille Mackler, Director of Legal Initiatives of the New York Immigration Coalition, for her assistance in the investigation.

The case was investigated by Detective Investigator Alfredo Nunez, of the District Attorney’s Investigations Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Chief William Pettie; and Veronica Beltran, Financial Investigator, Roseann Schembri, Financial Analyst, and Adrienne Ward, of the Asset Forfeiture and Crimes Against Revenue Bureau, under the supervision of Chief Financial Investigator Michael Campi.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney José Interiano, of the District Attorney’s Immigrant Fraud Unit, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kin Ng, Unit Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief.

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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Former NYPD Officer Indicted for Allegedly Killing Pedestrian and
Injuring Three Others When Driving Drunk and Jumping Curb

Defendant’s Blood-Alcohol Level was Nearly Three Times the Legal Limit;
Faces up to 25 Years in Prison if Convicted

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a former New York City Police Department officer has been charged in a 26-count indictment with aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, vehicular assault and other charges for allegedly driving drunk in Williamsburg, jumping a curb and striking pedestrians on a sidewalk, killing one and seriously injuring three others.

District Attorney Thompson said, “It’s outrageous that this defendant – a New York City police officer at the time – chose to get behind the wheel while drunk and caused a deadly and horrific car crash. His poor decision took the life of a promising young man and left three others with injuries they’ll suffer from for life. We will now hold this defendant accountable for the immeasurable damages that he caused on the streets of Brooklyn that night.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Nicholas Batka, 28, of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice William Miller on a 26-count indictment in which he is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, aggravated driving while intoxicated and related counts. The defendant was released on $300,000 bail and his license was suspended. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count with which he is charged.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, in the early morning hours of July 16, 2016, the defendant was drinking with friends at The Whiskey, a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. At about 3 a.m., while driving his Dodge Durango, the defendant jumped the curb in the vicinity of Bedford Avenue and North 8th Street in Williamsburg. The vehicle struck four pedestrians on the sidewalk and crashed through a wrought iron fence into the front of a building at 161 Bedford Avenue. A cell phone video shows the defendant being prevented by passersby from leaving the scene.

Andrew Esquivel, 21, suffered blunt force trauma and died hours after the crash. Sophia Tabchhouri, 20, suffered severe injuries to her legs and arms, including multiple fractures. Divya Menezes, 20, suffered severe trauma to both legs and to the right arm plus pelvic fractures. James Balchunas, 24, suffered serious leg injuries. All three surviving victims continue to receive extensive medical treatment.

The defendant sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he refused to submit to a blood test. Blood taken from the defendant about two hours after the crash showed that his blood-alcohol level at that time was measured at .23, according to the evidence. The legal limit is a blood-alcohol level of .08.

The defendant, who was a probationary officer assigned to the Manhattan Transit Task Force, was fired by the Police Department a few days after the incident.

The case was investigated by Detective Kenneth Long, Detective Michael Sharpe and Detective Edward Behringer of the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad, and by Sergeant Terrence Smithson and Captain Louis Vierling of the NYPD’s Internal Affair Bureau.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Bureau Chief of the District Attorney’s Trial Bureau III, Grey Zone, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Nocella, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Grey Zone, and Assistant District Attorney Krystyn Tendy, also of the Grey Zone.

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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.