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In late May and early June 2020, thieves smashed storefronts in the Bronx and Manhattan boroughs of New York City.
Several of them were caught on tape, some with their faces visible. Others even posted their own videos of their actions on those nights on social media. Hundreds were arrested.
But a review of NYPD data by the investigative team at WNBC, NBC’s New York-owned broadcaster, shows that a large percentage of the cases have been dismissed – particularly in the Bronx – and that many of the convictions were on charges such as trespassing for which there was no liability. prison time.
“I was in complete shock that everything was being ignored,” said Jessica Betancourt, who owns an eyeglasses shop that was looted and destroyed along Burnside Boulevard in the Bronx last June.
According to the data, 118 people were arrested in the Bronx during the worst of the looting in early June.
Click here to see the WNBC New York version of this story.
Since then, the NYPD says Bronx County attorneys and courts have dismissed most of these cases — 73 in total. 18 cases are still open and 19 convictions have been handed down mostly on lesser charges such as trespassing, charges that do not require a prison sentence.
Betancourt, who is also vice president of a local dealers’ association, called the figures “disgusting”. She said local business leaders resent that few are being held accountable for the destruction they caused.
In Manhattan, much of the looting occurred in the upscale SoHo neighborhood. Amid the Covid pandemic, mobsters and organized criminals have taken advantage of massive protests in the city after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police.
Click here to read the NBC New York version of this story.
NYPD data shows that 485 people have been arrested in Manhattan. Of these, 222 were subsequently dropped and 73 resulted in convictions for lesser charges such as trespassing, which do not require a prison sentence. 40 other cases related to juveniles were referred to the family court; 128 cases are still open.
Law enforcement expert and former New York Police Department chief Wilbur Chapman has expressed anger at prosecutors for dropping several cases of looting and burglary.
“If they are so overworked that they can’t handle the task for which they are assigned, maybe they should find another field of work,” Chapman said.
Sources at the DA’s offices in Manhattan and the Bronx said that the evidence, in some cases, was simply not strong enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. With the courts closed amid the Covid pandemic, there was a large backlog of cases that were impractical for both the courts and prosecutors.
The NYPD formed a task force after the riots to examine videos and photos to separate the suspected suspects from the peaceful protesters. This action is similar to what the FBI does in making hundreds of arrests after riots at the US Capitol.
But unlike federal prosecutors who go ahead to prosecute rioters on Capitol Hill, New York City attorneys general adjudicate most burglary cases.
A Muji store is looted with broken windows in Manhattan on June 1, 2020. Lev Radin / Sipa USA via AP file
The NYPD says there are follow-up investigations led in part by Deputy Inspector Andrew Arias, in which evidence included photos and stolen property recovered.
“We had to analyze each case individually and see if we could in fact prove that the right person had committed the crime,” Arias said.
Former President Chapman says that while the NYPD has done some follow-up, the data shows that district attorneys and courts have not.
“Those who committed crimes were allowed to be released,” Chapman said.
Bronx DA Darcell Clark declined repeated requests for an interview, as did Manhattan DA Cy Vance.
In an internal memo, Vance says there have been more than 600 commercial burglary arrests as well as more than 3,500 unconvicted felony cases in progress pending moving forward in the courts. His memo says all of those cases were on hold due to the pandemic.
Before dropping the case, Vance asked prosecutors to review the defendants’ criminal history, whether the police could really put the suspect at the scene, and whether the individual had caused “any damage to the shop.”
“For many of these business robberies, you will be required to reduce the initial felony charge to a misdemeanor and dispose of the case…focusing on rehabilitation,” Vance told his office.
He stressed the “continued goal of achieving consistency and equal treatment in these cases.”
A spokesperson for the New York state court system said that decisions to dismiss cases were made primarily by district attorneys. “The application must be submitted by the prosecutor or as they have done with hundreds of [court appearance orders]They refused to sue them.”
In the Bronx, some companies that had insurance are back. But the scars from the riots a year ago remain.
“They can do it again because they know they won’t get the appropriate punishment,” Betancourt said.
jonathan service
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