Latest news with #Licitra
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Yahoo
Meet NYC's worst ‘pro-defendant' judge who frees violent perps, allegedly berates sex-crime victims and prosecutors
New York City's worst judge — who lets violent perps walk free a stunning 85% of the time — was once so 'condescending' to a sex-crime victim, the woman refused to testify in her courtroom, sources told The Post. Queens Criminal Court Judge Wanda 'Wendy' Licitra is 'the bane of our existence,' a Queens District Attorney insider said. 'She has no concern whatsoever for victims of crimes.' Out of 43 violent felony cases overseen by Licitra between January and June 2024, she set bail only five times and held no suspects in pretrial detention — an 85% release rate, according to a Post review of the latest available Office of Court Administration data. That was the highest rate of all city judges with at least 25 felony criminal cases, The Post found. Licitra's alleged affinity for criminals was on display in a 2024 sex-crime case, two sources said. Licitra, 65, 'declared a mistrial during summations on the case because she didn't think the [prosecuting] attorney was doing a good job,' one source said, noting the judge spoke down to the victim during the proceedings. 'When the case came up for retrial, the woman who testified before her refused to testify again,' the source explained. The Democrat jurist's treatment of the victim was a serious problem, a second source added. 'The victim was not happy with the way the judge had spoken to her.' The case was ultimately dismissed. 'This awful thing happens … and because of the way they're treated within the system that's supposed to be protecting them, she was not willing to testify again,' the insider said. 'It's really sad.' Licitra, a former Legal Aid defense attorney who now earns upwards of $196,200 as a judge, has no love for assistant district attorneys either, critics said. 'She's disrespectful to prosecutors. She loves defense attorneys, but when prosecutors open up their mouths, she's condescending and she's nasty,' one of the sources said. The second insider recalled how in a different case, a prosecutor went to court to ask to speak to Licitra and waited two hours, only to have the judge, who was appointed to the bench by then-Mayor de Blasio in 2020, refuse. 'It seemed like it was very intentional,' the source said. Court records show the judge refused to look at 'crystal clear' video in a 2024 assault case against a repeat criminal who at that point had wracked up 26 prior arrests. Hulking, 6-foot-1 suspect Courtney Jacobs was caught on camera randomly 'choking and beating' a LaGuardia Airport pilot, who was in full uniform on a city bus on his way to work, an ADA told Licitra, according to a transcript. The prosecutor, who had sought one year behind bars for Jacobs, pleaded with the judge to consider the 'overwhelming' evidence — including photos of the pilot's injuries, and potential testimony from the victim — before offering the suspect any deal. 'This is what members of our community – victims on buses and subway platforms – are truly terrorized by, stranger attacks unprovoked for no reason by someone bigger and stronger,' the prosecutor said. The prosecutor noted she'd worked extensively with the defense to see if Jacobs had a mental illness or could get treatment — but found he was simply 'a sociopath.' Jacobs 'understands what he is doing is wrong. He just chooses to do it and it is problematic,' the prosecutor told the judge. Licitra was unmoved. 'I'm a big girl. I'm perfectly able [to make] my own assessment and determination,' Licitra added, ultimately begrudgingly agreeing to review the tapes. Jacobs could have been given a two-year sentence, but instead was behind bars for just over three months before being released on Nov. 29 due to time served, according to city records. On Feb. 5 he was arrested again and accused of randomly socking another unsuspecting victim in the face, this time inside a light rail station at JFK Airport. A different Queens judge set Jacobs' bail at $10,000 cash or $50,000 bond in that case, which is pending. Even among defense attorneys, Licitra has gained notoriety for springing violent accused criminals. 'She's letting them all out,' one longtime defense lawyer previously told The Post. Last year, Licitra cut loose at least two perps charged with first-degree assault with a weapon and second-degree robbery resulting in physical injury, respectively, without bail – only for the pair to be rearrested for violent felonies, according to OCA's pretrial data. In February of 2022, she released 37-year-old Frank Abrokwa, who was accused of assaulting a woman on the subway by shoving poop in her face – even after Abrokwa snarled at Licitra, 'F–k you, bitch' in her courtroom. The State University of New York at New Paltz graduate received her law degree from Hofstra University School of Law. She has two homes — an apartment in Forest Hills, Queens, just a few minutes from the courthouse, and a sprawling 7,500-square-foot home on Long Island worth more than $600,000, where The Post spotted her getting into a white Nissan Rogue in the driveway last week. Licitra and the Office of Court Administration did not respond to inquiries.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Woke NYC judges are cutting ‘dangerous' perps loose at an alarming rate
These are the worst — and wokest — judges in New York City when it comes to protecting the public from violent suspects. These criminal court jurists set violent offenders loose ahead of trial at an astounding rate — with some springing alleged perps more than 80% of the time, according to a Post analysis of pretrial detention data from the Office of Court Administration. The analysis looked at 96 judges who handled a minimum of 25 cases in the first six months of 2024 where the top charge at arraignment was a violent felony. Nearly all such cases are still bail-eligible, even after radical criminal-justice reforms were enacted by Albany lawmakers in 2019. One of the city's most egregious practitioners of this junk justice is Queens Criminal Court Judge Wanda Licitra, who only set bail five times and had no suspects held in pretrial detention in 34 violent felony cases spanning January to June 2024, the latest available data. Licitra even set loose a feces fiend accused of smashing poop into a straphanger's face on a subway platform — who cursed her out in court to boot. 'Judges like that, we call them judges who drink the Kool Aid, because instead of them focusing on the actual situation, they're drinking the Kool Aid of bail reform,' one veteran criminal defense attorney who has repeatedly gone before Licitra told The Post. Such jurists' 'broad ideological slide' toward opposing incarceration is endangering New Yorkers' lives, said Hannah E. Meyers, a fellow and director of policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute. Many of these judges are 'letting out dangerous people even when they know those people are dangerous and they're failing to be responsible in those situations and safety of others,' she said. Judges have bemoaned their hands are tied when deciding to set bail, citing how New York is the only state where jurists only can weigh whether a person will return to court, with zero consideration for whether they're a public safety threat. Yet criminal defense attorney Thomas Keniff, who ran as a Republican against Alvin Bragg for Manhattan district attorney, stressed there are 'many' ways to justify holding a violent perp on bail. 'Even when you can't rely on the public safety criteria because of the dysfunctional laws in the state [to set bail], chances are you can get there some other way.' An OCA spokesperson said the administration does not comment on bail decisions, but said judges 'have discretion in making bail decisions in accordance with the law and based solely on an individualized assessment of a defendant's risk of flight.' None of the following judges responded to requests for comment. Judge Wanda Licitra, 65 Queens Criminal Court Freed 29 out of 34 accused violent felons, 85% Appointed by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021, she has gained notoriety among prosecutors and defense attorneys alike for springing violent accused criminals. Last year, the ex-Legal Aid Society attorney cut loose at least two perps charged with first-degree assault with a weapon and second-degree robbery resulting in physical injury, respectively, without bail — only for the pair to be rearrested for violent felonies, according to OCA's pretrial data. 'She's letting them all out,' one longtime defense attorney said. In February 2022, Licitra caused a stink when she released Frank Abrokwa, 37, who was accused of assaulting a woman on the subway by pushing poo into the victim's face. Even though Abrokwa snarled at Licitra, 'F–k you, bitch' in her courtroom, Licitra let him go during an early proceeding. By September 2022, she also ordered the release of a 56-year-old man who was being held on Rikers Island due to his inability to pay a $500 bail, citing the jail's violent conditions. The man, who had bail set for allegedly violating an order of protection, had open cases for drunk driving and assault, according to New York Focus. Judge Valentina Morales, 46 Manhattan Criminal Court Freed without bail a migrant who allegedly slashed a man in 2023 Another de Blasio appointee, Morales has been nicknamed 'Judge Let-em-go' among law enforcement officials for her notorious leniency. Between January and June 2024, Morales let 83 alleged violent felons out of 101 walk without bail, including recidivist vagrant Eric Taylor, who already had been convicted on two felony charges and nearly two dozen misdemeanors. Taylor had been charged with bail-eligible felony assault for allegedly throwing a shopping bag filled with heavy objects at a 24-year-old woman walking to work in Union Square in January 2024, leaving her with a black eye, a cut above her eyebrow, and a concussion. Morales also previously set Venezuelan migrant Walter Almachi Leal free without bail in October 2023 after he allegedly slashed a man's arm with a broken beer bottle in Times Square. The alleged victim needed 20 stitches for his injuries. 'You take the oath as a judge to protect and serve,' one cop with nearly 20 years said. 'Clearly she's not when it comes to criminals.' Judge Robert Rosenthal, 63 Manhattan Criminal Court Sprung violent robber who went on sexual assault spree the next day Elected to Manhattan Civil Court in 2019 but assigned to criminal court, Rosenthal let perps go without bail in the first half of 2024 a staggering 67% of the time. Then, in January, the onetime de Blasio appointee made headlines after he cut loose on supervised release Jason Ayala, who had been charged with violent robbery charges. The very next day, Ayala, 37, allegedly went on a twisted sexual assault rampage, abusing a 12-year-old and 14-year-old as well as three women in the span of 30 minutes. The case is still pending. 'All of the arrests were for forcibly touching intimate parts and endangerment. He shouldn't have been out on our streets the next day doing that,' Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told The Post at the time. The mother of the 14-year-old victim was outraged by Rosenthal's record: 'It's concerning because it doesn't seem like the judge is for the innocent people — he's for the person doing the crime,' she said. Judge Marva Brown, 43 Manhattan Criminal Court Freed 54 out of 87 accused violent felons, 62% Brown has only been on the bench for 14 months, but in that short tenure has sprung at least 54 violent maniacs – a number of whom have reoffended. The ex-Legal Aid attorney, was elected to Brooklyn Civil Court in November 2023 but has overseen Manhattan criminal cases, infamously let loose Amira Hunter without bail after she was caught on camera bashing a subway cellist over the head with a metal water bottle in February 2024. Weeks later, Hunter was nabbed for allegedly shoplifting at Nordstrom in midtown. Earlier this year, she also sprang a subway nutter on a bail-eligible sexual abuse charge — only for the psycho to allegedly push an unsuspecting rider into a moving train at a Washington Heights station. 'You don't have to be a criminal justice expert to know that setting violent recidivist criminals loose on our streets puts New Yorkers in real danger,' MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber previously told The Post. Judge Eugene Bowen, 49 Bronx Criminal Court Sprung alleged gun-toting migrant squatter without bail Bowen, who was elected to Manhattan Civil Court in 2022 but is now assigned to Bronx criminal cases, sparked outrage in 2023 when he released two men who allegedly bashed a cop after the officer asked them to put out their cigarettes at a subway station — despite prosecutors asking for $10,000 cash bail. Bowen continued to cut accused violent felons loose in a staggering 87 out of 113 cases he oversaw between January and June 2024. In April 2024, the jurist let go on supervised release an accused gun-toting migrant, Hector Desousa-Villalta, who was one of six busted for allegedly squatting and dealing drugs out of a Norwood multifamily home. Desousa-Villalta had an open case linked to August 2023, when he allegedly shot a fellow migrant during an argument over a woman in Yonkers, police officials said. Bowen also let two other migrants walk without any restrictions ahead of their trial, one of whom was previously arrested in September 2023 and indicted for possession of a loaded firearm, police officials said. Additional reporting by Tina Moore
