The Big Apple’s rotting: How woke Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's giving career criminals free reign in NYC
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: With the perp-protecting policies pursued by Manhattan's progressive District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York City saw a double-digit percentage spike in the number of major crimes so far this year compared to roughly the same time last year, latest NYPD statistics show. Bragg has repeatedly come under fire for his catch-and-release policy that offers 'sweet' plea deals, measly cash bails and get-out-of-jail-free cards to repeat offenders, sending criminals back on the streets to commit more crimes.
The total number of Big Apple's major crimes has gone up 33.4% so far this year though murders and shooting incidents both come down as of September 25, reveals NYPD statistics. Grand larceny soared a whopping 43.4%, from 26,206 to 37,583 incidents, auto theft leaped 38%, from 7,167 to 9,892, robbery spiked 37.3%, from 9,334 to 12,815 and burglary jumped 32.4%, from 8,695 to 11,515, over the same period in 2021, the statistics reveal. Rapes increased 10.6%, from 1,106 to 1,223, and felony assaults were up 16.6%, from 16,598 to 19,356, according to the NYPD data. On the bright side, murders dropped 11.8%, from 364 to 321, shooting incidents fell 12.6%, from 1,173 to 1,025, and the number of shooting victims were down 11.7%, from 1,411 to 1,246, revealed the data.
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Repeat offenders walk free to commit more crimes
Justin Washington
The latest in the long list of repeat offenders to be offered a plum deal was Justin Washington. The Manhattan DA's office cut a 30-day jail deal with Washington, 25, who was accused of raping his teenage relative, according to New York Post. Washington then went on to allegedly sexually harass five other people in the Bronx on September 15, just a week before his sentencing. An NYPD police officer mocked the DA, saying, “That is a sweet deal. He went from rape one and facing 25 years in jail, which is hard time, to 30 days." Another police source said, “The DA should be coming up with programs for victims, not criminals.”
Anthony Ibanez
Anthony Ibanez, 32, who was arrested on May 25 after he and the partner-in-crime allegedly stole a tip jar and other items from a deli near West 43rd Street, was initially charged with robbery in the first degree, reported NY Post. However, Bragg’s office reduced those charges to non-bail eligible charges of petit larceny, second-degree menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property. He was released on his own recognizance one day after his arrest. On August 24, Ibanez allegedly shoved a 15-year-old girl to the ground in Parkchester and tried to sexually assault her before a passerby stepped in and rescued her.
Harold Gooding
New York's most prolific offender Harold Gooding, 53, is a serial shoplifter who has been arrested 101 times for repeated raids on Target and other stores. He has been busted 88 times on larceny charges in the last two years and at least 74 of these were petty and grand larceny charges that were committed in Manhattan. Out of the Top 10 recidivists in the city, six are not behind bars due to lax bail reforms, compounded by Bragg's instructions to not pursue cash bail in a majority of cases.
Marcus Wright
Earlier, career criminal Marcus Wright, 37, bagged several deals from the Manhattan DA's office, including one case before Bragg took office in January, said a report. Wright, who has 36 prior arrests on his record, went on to walk the streets to commit more crimes. On November 24, 2021, Wright was charged with robbery at a Sephora retailer in Union Square and he pleaded guilty to a petty larceny charge and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. On April 24, he bagged a similar plum deal from Bragg after allegedly stealing nearly $1,400 worth items from a Soho boutique, allowing him to plead down to petty larceny and walk out without any prison time. On May 13, Wright was busted again on assault charges on May 13 for allegedly punching a woman in the face during a random attack in Chelsea.
Christian Hall
Another career criminal, Christian Hall, 30, who allegedly threatened workers at a TJ Maxx store in Chelsea with a pair of scissors on January 6, saw his felony robbery charge reduced to petty larceny and was released without bail. He was arrested again on February 9 in an unprovoked, sucker-punch attack on a city sanitation worker in Chelsea, but was finally ordered to be held on bail. “DA Bragg owns this attack,” NY Post quoted a Manhattan cop as saying while another said, "This is what happens when you don’t hold criminals accountable."
William Rolon
Career criminal William Rolon, 43, who allegedly threatened a Lower East Side drug store worker with a knife while stealing $2,000 worth of items on January 8, also had a felony robbery downgraded to petty larceny. At his arraignment, the judge told Rolon that he should “feel lucky” because “the newly elected district attorney has new policies” and Rolon otherwise “would have faced a long period of time in jail.” Rolon reportedly served two terms in prison for robbery and attempted robbery and also has 16 misdemeanor convictions and failed to appear in court eight times, as per records.
Tyrell Rodgers
Tyrell Rodgers, 29, who has 23 busts on his rap sheet, allegedly pointed a revolver at his ex-girlfriend and stole her cellphone while threatening to kill her on February 8. Detectives reportedly requested a warrant to look for the handgun after the robbery was reported on February 17. However, the DA's office failed to issue a warrant that detectives on the robbery case requested and Rodgers then allegedly went on to kill a man with that revolver on March 8, reported NY Post.
Claude Myers
Another career crook, Claude Myers, 54, who has 46 prior arrests on his record, also had his charges reduced. Myers was on parole when he was nabbed by cops on February 19 for stealing cash from an unsuspecting woman on the Upper East Side. He was initially charged with grand larceny but Bragg’s office downgraded the charges to petty larceny, a report said.
Clemency only for crooks?
While Bragg downgraded charges and lowered bails for career criminals, he filed a second-degree murder charge against Manhattan bodega worker Jose Alba for killing ex-convict Austin Simon, 35, in 'self-defense', putting the traumatized clerk in Rikers Island prison for a week. Alba had no prior arrests while Simon was on probation for assault and reportedly had been arrested at least 27 times previously. On the other hand, Simon's girlfriend who attacked Alba behind the counter of his store, has walked free, questioning the fairness promised by the Manhattan DA's office when Bragg took over in January.
However, Bragg was forced to back down after Mayor Eric Adams and former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton came to Alba's defense. The DA dropped the charges against Alba amid widespread outrage and his office conceded that there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute the case.