Latest news with #DarcelClark
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man charged with raping teen in Bronx stairwell was just released from prison for sex assault of boy he threw off roof
A man charged with raping a 15-year-old girl in a Bronx stairwell had recently been released from prison — where he spent eight years for sexually assaulting a young boy and throwing him off a rooftop, authorities said. Carmine Aska, 29, had been out of prison for less than one month when he allegedly attacked the teen, with whom he was riding in an elevator in an apartment building in Co-Op City in February. Aska punched the girl in the face, causing her to fall to the floor, and when the elevator doors opened, he displayed a knife and dragged her into the stairwell, according to the Bronx District Attorney's office. Once inside the stairwell, he forced the teen to perform oral sex before raping her, and afterward made her spit into a napkin before fleeing, officials charged. 'This is a nightmare for the young victim who was viciously assaulted by the defendant,' D.A. Darcel Clark said in a statement. 'He allegedly punched her, overpowered her, and took her at knifepoint into a stairwell and raped her. This defendant will now face justice for this heinous act.' A jury previously convicted Aska of attempted murder for throwing a 9-year-old boy off the rooftop of a six-story apartment building in the Bronx in 2013 — when Aska was 17 — after the boy threatened to report Aska for sexually abusing him, according to newspaper reports at the time. Aska was locked up in 2017 and served eight years in state prison before being released on parole in January, prison records show. The little boy suffered a broken leg, broken arm and internal bleeding, and for a time was on life support in a medically-induced coma at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, but eventually recovered. Aska was charged with predatory sexual assault against a child, rape, sexual abuse and criminal weapons possession.
CBS News
23-06-2025
- CBS News
20 alleged Bronx gang members charged in 208-count indictment. Here's what they're accused of.
There has been a gang takedown in the Bronx linked to a dozen shootings over the past four years. The indictment includes more than 200 counts and 20 people, New York City officials said Monday. District Attorney Darcel Clark stood alongside Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in front of a number of seized weapons to announce the indictment of alleged gang members they say are responsible for 12 shootings in the borough dating to 2021. "This must end," Clark said. "In this all-too-familiar scenario, we're talking about teenagers with guns, using them cavalierly, callously, and cold bloodedly." Charges run the gamut of violence, police say According to the NYPD, the 208-count indictment against the 20 people includes murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, assault, robbery, and burglary charges. Surveillance video captured four of the shootings involving alleged members of Bronx street gangs 9Raq and Thirdside. One of the more recent videos, from March 30, shows alleged gang members in hoodies and masks opening fire towards rivals on the sidewalk along Morris Avenue. Another angle shows the shooting from across the street, and yet another shows a shooting from the back of a moped, with one person opening fire into a group of people on East 180th Street. "Last week, we arrested 16, and the NYPD Warrants Squad is working around the clock to bring in the other four," Tisch said. Bronx residents told CBS News New York the indictment and arrests are a good start, but they want to see more progress. "There must be intervention and prevention. If we don't do them both together, we will be in a perpetual cycle," Adams said. Residents lament their loss of safety The NYPD also said some of the gang territory is in the Claremont neighborhood. CBS News New York spoke to residents that said they've felt unsafe for a while. "Safety-wise, it's changing," Dolly McCray said. McCray said she has been living in Claremont for more than 60 years and added while the new arrests are a step in the right direction, they're not enough. "That's just a little piece of it. It goes on and on and on and on. You stop it over here for a while and it jumps off somewhere else," McCray said. "I feel like the safety is OK," Tynesha Parker said. Parker, who just moved into the neighborhood about a year ago, said law enforcement's Operation: Double Trouble already has her feeling a bit better. "Hopefully, I can be able to bring my children out and feel a little bit safer. I don't want to have to look behind my shoulder," Parker said.
New York Post
23-06-2025
- New York Post
Bumbling baby-faced NYC gangs that accidentally shot one of their own, hit bystanders get nailed by cops
They're the gangs that couldn't shoot straight. A bumbling baby-faced Bronx gang accidentally killed one of its own in a gunfight with a rival group — and its foes later fired 17 shots at one of them but missed, instead grazing a passer-by in the head, officials said Monday in announcing a takedown of some of the members. A member of the bungling gang that shot the innocent victim even admitted in a drill rap video just how badly the hit was botched — rapping, 'I don't know how we missed them,'' authorities said. Advertisement 'This is a lost generation,' Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said at a press conference unveiling the sweeping 208-count indictment against 19 members of the warring 9Raq and Thirdside gangs — none older than 23, with the youngest just 16. 3 Bumbling members of two teenage gangs have been indicted for a slew of shootings that have mistakenly wounded three bystanders — and killed one of their own — in the past four years. Obtained by the NY Post 'Youth are shooting people right here, right outside our very courthouses,' Clark said. 'They turn 161st Street, two blocks from Yankee Stadium, into a war zone. Advertisement 'The Bronx is bleeding, and I'm doing everything within my power to make it stop.' The young thugs committed a slew of crimes ranging from murder to grand larceny over the past four years in neighborhoods such as Claremont and Belmont — with adult gang members passing them their loaded weapons to take advantage of the state's 'Raise the Age' law that protects minors, authorities said. But the move may have come with a price. Alleged 9Raq member Nixon Rodriguez was fatally shot by a member of his own young crew June 2, 2023, on Olinville Avenue during a failed mission in rival gang territory, prosecutors said. Advertisement Last month, a Thirdside defendant also posted a drill rap music video to his Instagram admitting he took part in a botched shootout with 9Raq near a middle school in the early afternoon of March 30, authorities said. At least 17 shots were fired, but none of them hit their intended rival gang members. Instead, a bullet grazed a 22-year-old man in the head as he was driving by the corner in his car, Clark said. 3 The young gangsters have brazenly turned some Bronx neighborhoods into their own shooting galleries. Bronx District Attorney 'I don't know how we missed them,' the Thirdside gang member allegedly rapped in the video. Advertisement Multiple bystanders have been hit during other shootouts between the gangs, too, authorities said. When the two gangs exchanged gunfire Aug. 2, 2022, on Finley Avenue, at least one of the shots struck a 34-year-old passer-by in the lower back, officials said. During another 2022 shooting, a 75-year-old innocent man was wounded in the thigh, Clark said. 3 Mayor Eric Adams, flanked by Bronx DA Darcel Clark and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, ripped the gangs for their 'reckless disregard' of their communities. Tomas E. Gaston Six people were arrested last week in the gangs' takedown, while four gang members remain on the lam, and 10 others are already behind bars for other charges, prosecutors said. 'There's an endless flow of young people who believe as though they don't have a stake in tomorrow, so they are creating a reckless disregard on our streets,' said Mayor Eric Adams at the press conference, which was also attended by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. 'And when a bullet leaves the pathway of a gun, it often hits an unintended target,' said Adams, a former cop. Adams, Clark and Tisch said the state needs to re-examine its 'Raise the Age' law, which changed the age at which a child can be prosecuted as an adult. That age went from 16 to 17 in 2018 and from 17 to 18 in 2019, allowing those under 18 to be turned over to the family court system instead of regular court, where they could face stiffer punishments if convicted. Advertisement 'One of [the indicted suspects] has allegedly pulled the trigger at least four times. These aren't kids who just made one mistake,' Tisch told reporters. 'The takeaway is clear,' she said. 'our Raise the Age law needs to be re-examined because it removed the criminal consequences that prevent teens from escalating violence until they or their rivals are either dead or facing adult sentences.' Out of the gang members arrested, three have been arraigned and held without bail, one has been arraigned with bail set, and another has been arrested and is pending arraignment. Advertisement An additional Jane Doe, who was a part of the takedown but not charged as a gang member, was arraigned and held on bail.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Monroe University Confers Degrees on 2,785 Students Representing 65 Countries at Annual Commencement
Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark and New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos Deliver Commencement Addresses BRONX, N.Y., June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Monroe University, a national leader in educating first-generation and international students, held its 92nd Annual Commencement today at Radio City Music Hall in midtown Manhattan. Degrees were conferred on 2,785 students from around the world during the day's warm, joyful celebration of the Class of 2025. This year's Commencement was particularly special as it marked the first one held at the iconic venue since Monroe's elevation to university status last summer. President Marc Jerome reflected on the institution's historic achievement during his uplifting, celebratory remarks. Two separate ceremonies were held to accommodate the families and friends of the students earning Associate, Bachelor's, or Master's degrees or professional and advanced certificates. Graduates participating in the morning ceremony completed programs of study in Monroe's School of Business and Accounting, School of Criminal and Social Justice, School of Information Technology, and School of Nursing. The Grand Marshal was Cicely Spann, a valued member of staff for 30 years who currently works within the Office of Loan Management. Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark gave the keynote address. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson shared a warm congratulatory message with the graduates and their families. The afternoon ceremony conferred degrees on graduate students from Monroe's King Graduate School, as well as undergraduate students from the School of Allied Health Professions, School of Education, and School of Hospitality Management and the Culinary Institute of New York. Maria Vega, a member of the Student Financial Services team who has also served Monroe students for 30 years, led the processional as Grand Marshal. New York City Public Schools Chancellor and former Monroe University Vice President Melissa Aviles-Ramos delivered the keynote address. NYC Council Member Pierina Sanchez gave congratulatory remarks. Graduates in the Class of 2025 represented 65 countries. In addition to students from the U.S. and its territories, the next largest contingents were from, in order: India, Saint Lucia, China, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Bangladesh. The University conferred 596 Master's degrees; 1,081 Bachelor's degrees; and 1,051 Associate degrees this year, as well as awarded 57 professional and advanced certificates. The University's three-semester academic calendar enables Monroe students to earn 45 or more college credits per year (compared to the 30 credits college students typically earn per year at other institutions). That means that many of the graduates this year earned their Bachelor's degree in three years or their Associate degree in less than two years. ABOUT MONROE UNIVERSITY Founded in 1933, Monroe University is a recognized leader in urban and international education. The University is proud of its innovative programs to increase college access, affordability, and completion outcomes, especially among first-generation students, and for the national recognition it receives for its strong impact on graduates' social mobility. Programs are offered through Schools of Allied Health Professions, Business and Accounting, Criminal and Social Justice, Education, Hospitality Management and the Culinary Institute of New York, Information Technology, and Nursing, as well as through its King Graduate School. Liberal arts and continuing education programs are also available. For more information and admissions criteria, please visit Media Contact Jacqueline Ruegger, Monroe University, 914-740-6455, jruegger@ Twitter View original content: SOURCE Monroe University
CBS News
07-06-2025
- CBS News
Bronx community marches in honor of Gun Violence Awareness Day after rash of shootings
Over the last few days, there have been multiple reports of gun violence in the Bronx. Hoping to make the violence stop, many went out into the community Friday, spreading the message on Gun Violence Awareness Day. "We're doing prevention, intervention, we're doing it all" Community members gathered to march for a purpose wearing bright orange shirts and chanting from the streets from La Central YMCA to St. Mary's Park in the Bronx. The march was in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day and to kick off Gun Violence Awareness month. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark hosted the march and a "Plant for Peace" to bed out flowers at St. Mary's Park. "Orange is the color for gun violence awareness. And we're planting on behalf of beautifying the park, but at the same time honoring those who lost their lives to gun violence," Clark said. "So every year now – those plants come back every year, they're perennials ... Every year we'll get to honor, you know, gun violence awareness as well as those lives that were lost." Clark expressed the march and planting for peace are just the beginning for the community to bloom in a new direction. "We have a strategy, where we're doing prevention, intervention, we're doing it all. But it's also something that communities can take ownership. They can say this is a gun violence free zone," she said. 5 shootings in the Bronx in 48 hours In the span of 48 hours, police responded to at least five shootings in the Bronx, leaving six people injured. Police say no arrests have been made in at least four of those five shootings. Police presence was evident throughout parts of the borough Friday evening. Several officers stood outside at least two locations where gun violence sent three teens to the hospital less than nine hours apart. On Thursday afternoon, surveillance video captured people running for cover as gunshots rang out on East 176th Street outside a grocery store. Police said two 17-year-olds were injured; one was shot in the neck and the other was shot in the right arm. Other recent victims of gun violence in the borough include a 17-year-old boy shot in the hip and a 15-year-old boy shot in the thigh. According to NYPD data, as of June 1, shooting victims and incidents are down in the Bronx by at least 18% compared to last year. You can email Erica with Bronx story ideas by CLICKING HERE.
