Latest news with #RaisetheAge
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Boy, 13, busted in stray bullet NYC shooting death of Yonkers man in the Bronx: cops
A 13-year-old boy was busted this week in the shooting death of an innocent 28-year-old man who was simply meeting his out-of-town friend in the Bronx late last month, cops said Wednesday. The young teen turned himself in Tuesday afternoon to face charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and criminal use of a firearm in the broad-daylight April 23 shooting death of Daoud Marji, a 28-year-old plumber's apprentice from Yonkers, police said. Daoud was not the intended target, nor was a 33-year-old woman who was struck in the hip and wounded in the fray, according to law enforcement sources. 6 A 13-year-old boy was charged with second-degree murder in the April 23 shooting that took the life of Daoud Marji, 28, cops said. Peter Gerber 6 Daoud, a plumber's apprentice from Yonkers, was meeting up with an out-of-town pal at University Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road when he was fatally shot in the head. The motive for the deadly violence – and the target of the boy's gunfire – were not immediately known. Daoud was meeting up with a pal from Detroit at University Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road just before 5 p.m. when bullets flew – with a single round striking him in the head, according to cops and his father. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he clung to life but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Daoud's dad Saed Marji, 56, previously told The Post he encouraged his son not to travel to the Bronx, because he heard the area was bad. He was heartbroken when his son's pal called him with the shattering news. 6 Daoud's dad Saed Marji, 56, said he had encouraged his son not to travel to the Bronx. TOMAS E. GASTON 'I'm a strong man, but I'm shocked. I have to take care of my family. My wife, she's very bad.' 'What am I going to do? He was my blood,' the heartbroken dad added. The alleged teen shooter's arrest came just hours after Commissioner Jessica Tisch bashed policies such as 'Raise the Age' initiatives which she said made it 'basically a consequence-free environment for kids committing crimes.' 6 'What am I going to do? He was my blood,' Daoud's heartbroken dad said. 'We changed the all the laws as they relate to how we deal with youth in our criminal justice system in 2019, and since then, we have seen an absolute explosion of youth violence, both youth as the perps and youth as the victims,' the top cop said on FOX 5's Good Day New York Tuesday morning. 'Kids commit crimes against other kids. And it is definitely something, an area where we need to re-look at the laws that were passed in 2019 and consider some major changes.' 'It's a bigger problem now,' Tisch added. 'There are more young people that we are finding with guns as the trigger-pullers.' 6 Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said youth violence has become a 'bigger problem' in recent years. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock The tragic killing also marked the second time in as many days that an innocent New Yorker was slain in random gun violence on the city's streets. A trailblazing Harlem bodega owner and community fixture — Excenia Mette, 61 — was also fatally shot in the head less than 24 hours earlier when she ran outside to check on her grandson. Police believe Ricky Shelby, 23, shot Mette by mistake as he exchanged bullets with Darious Smith, also 23, around 10:20 p.m. April 22 near West 113th Street and Lenox Avenue, according to sources. 6 Daoud marked the second innocent bystander fatally shot in the Big Apple in as many days. Peter Gerber Shelby was arraigned on second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and criminal possession of a weapon charges and ordered held without bail by a Manhattan judge. Smith, who was arrested nearby with a gunshot wound to his foot, faces an attempted murder charge and also remains in jail without bail.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Democrats' criminal-justice lies are as awful as the Biden coverup
Last week, former President Joe Biden disclosed his inexplicably 'undetected' aggressive cancer as bombshell revelations detailed how the White House covered up his crumbling health — enabled by a media establishment that hid the uncomfortable truth. Americans are outraged that supposedly trustworthy institutions lied about facts we needed to choose a president. We should be equally furious at the lies that officials and the progressive press have told us about public safety and 'justice reform' laws built on false narratives. Advertisement 'Our criminal justice system must be focused on redemption and rehabilitation,' Biden asserted during his 2020 presidential campaign. He pledged to 'reduce the number of people incarcerated' and, fantastically, to 'root out the racial, gender, and income-based disparities in the system' — ideals that New York Democrats also followed. Advertisement The words are as empty as the assurances of Biden's fitness were. In truth, about 35% of serious offenders are re-arrested within a year of prison release, with 85% re-arrested over a decade. No wonder reforms that replaced criminal consequences with social services boosted crime and reduced accountability. Tragically, when our government hides such truths, innocent people get hurt. Advertisement In 2023, for example, when Tyresse Minter was paroled early to the Bronx home of his wife Karen, the family was not warned that even while incarcerated (for pistol-whipping a man and then shooting him three times in the back), Minter had been disciplined for violent conduct and possessing a weapon. Karen was further lulled by the parenting and anger-management classes mandated for Minter by Family Court, led to believe that enrollment equaled rehabilitation. One month after she took Minter in, he fatally strangled Karen's 15-year-old son, Corde Scott. 'He was paroled to my home,' Karen told me. Advertisement 'So, they thought it was safe . . . Safe for who? He killed Corde.' New York's 2019 bail 'reform' law similarly refused to grapple with dangerousness — based on narratives about 'mass incarceration' and 'systemic racism.' Judges now are barred from setting bail for hundreds of offenses, forcing them to release even defendants who pose a clear threat to public safety. No wonder New Yorkers continue to feel unsafe in the subways, despite increased police presence: They no longer trust a criminal justice system that literally can't detain a violent psycho after he's committed an assault and swears to commit more. New York's discovery 'reform,' also built on baloney narratives about over-incarceration and race, forced prosecutors to simply decline or dismiss tens of thousands of cases rather than convict guilty criminals. Of course Gotham's pharmacies are locking up more and more products: They rightly don't trust the justice system to keep recidivists out of their shampoo aisles. Statewide 'Raise the Age' is perhaps the most appallingly deceitful 'reform' of all, because it endangers kids. Advertisement By removing criminal consequences for 16- and 17-year-olds, even when they commit repeated acts of violence, the law forces NYC teens to live in fear of their peers — a reality only worsened by 'Raise the Lower Age,' which prevents officers from taking kids under age 12 into custody at all. Juvenile probation and youth officers lament that more kids are bringing knives and guns to school because they correctly do not trust the system to protect them from dangerous classmates. By continually forgiving teen violence and burying case records, the laws have actually empowered violent youths to be more violent. In the last half-decade, NYC youth arrests surged up 68%, and youth victimization jumped 71%. Advertisement Nor can the city's vulnerable children trust the Administration for Children's Services to keep dangerous parents from harming them. Fallacious narratives about racial disparity and the stigma of criminal investigations lead ACS to channel 70% of neglect and abuse cases toward social service responses — not actual investigations. At least seven children have died in the past year under caseworkers' unserious 'supervision.' ACS has shown itself to be so untrustworthy that the city Department of Investigations is pushing for license to review at least a dozen recent child-harm cases. Advertisement Clearly, DOI doesn't trust the agency to decide which abuse claims are 'unfounded.' To regain trust in our institutions, New Yorkers must bring back mechanisms that force agencies to 'show us the receipts' when it comes to dangerous criminals. That means revising the bail law to permit judges to consider dangerousness in detaining offenders pre-trial, and amending the discovery law (beyond the recent tweaks) to ensure all cases with merit can be robustly prosecuted. Advertisement We must fix 'Raise the Age' and 'Raise the Lower Age' to re-establish real criminal consequences for youth violence — and to disclose statistics on young offenders. And ACS should return to actually investigating abusive parents. It's up to citizens to demand institutional honesty by pushing for policies based on truth, not pretty lies about redemption and race. Hannah E. Meyers is a fellow and the director of policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
NY's justice ‘reforms' claim another innocent child's life — and also failed her alleged teen shooter
Evette Jeffrey, 16, with her whole future ahead of her, was just riding her scooter outside a Bronx school when cops believe a 14-year-old boy — 14! — shot her dead. Chalk up two more tragedies to the curse of 'criminal-justice reform.' Police say it began with a gang-related melee Monday afternoon. From video, it appears the boy began firing after being punched; one bullet hit Evette, a classic innocent bystander. But how would a 14-year-old get a gun? And where would he get the idea that the proper response to a punch is to whip out a firearm and let loose? Parents, as Mayor Eric Adams suggested, have a duty to be vigilant about their children's whereabouts and activities; he's right to urge checking kids' backpacks and bedrooms. And of course adults should steer their kids away from violence — and violent crowds. But as we've often pointed out, a good part of the blame also lies with New York's criminal-justice system, which now sends a blaring signal that thugs, especially kids, will face scant consequences for criminal actions. Indeed, the Raise the Age law — signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2017 and backed by now-Gov. Kathy Hochul — protected teens under 18 (up from 16) from facing charges in adult criminal courts for all but the most serious crimes. That encouraged over-18 gangbangers to use younger kids as mules to carry their weapons, rightly figuring they'd escape serious consequences if caught. And the 2022 'Raise the Lower Age' law made it impossible to charge offenders aged 7 to 11 as 'juvenile delinquents.' Meanwhile, cashless bail and other criminal-justice 'reforms,' plus soft-on-crime prosecutors and judges, reinforced New York's 'anything goes' crime climate. Yes, new NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in six months has finally begun making a dent in violent crime, with murders down 34% and shootings 23% for the first three months of the year. But too much violence remains. And now, an innocent young girl has lost her life. Her family and friends are devastated. 'They took her away from us. They took her away from me,' sobbed Evette's grandma. Do lawmakers who still support those 'reforms' — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart Cousins, Hochul — even care?
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Yahoo
Number of NYC teens shot skyrockets, NYPD data show
The number of juveniles shot in New York City has surged 15% percent so far this year over last, and has skyrocketed 67% compared to pre-pandemic 2018, according to NYPD data. The number of teen shooters declined by 5% this year so far over last, but rose a dramatic 114% since 2018. At this point in 2018, there were 14 juvenile shooting victims compared to 30 so far in 2025. There were 10 juvenile shooters compared to 18 in those years, respectively, the data through April 20 show. The teen victims so far this year include Juan Jose Pena, an 18-year-old hoping to join the Navy who was gunned down around 1:25 a.m. Feb. 2 on Park Avenue near East 176th Street in the Bronx, police said. Since his death, his heartbroken mother has taken her three remaining children and fled to the Dominican Republic, his aunt Shery Olivo told The Post. 'She does not want to come back,' Olivo said. 'She still has three children to take care of. She does not think they are safe here.' A 17-year-old was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in Pena's death, police said. Cops were hunting for two additional suspects, police said. Pena, who had no criminal history, had just texted his mother he was on his way home moments before he was cut down, the family said. 'My nephew died 10 months ago and he did nothing wrong,' the aunt said. 'The person who killed my nephew is still out there in the streets, maybe committing another crime and getting away with it while my sister is crying every single day. I don't think they are doing enough.' Oliva is alarmed about the number of teens being gunned down and carryng guns in the city, she said. 'When is this going to end?' she asked. 'What are the elected officials doing? Don't they care about what's going on in the city. This is bad . . . it's getting worse. We don't have law and order anymore.' To mom Yanely Henriquez, the sick statistics brings back the pain she suffered when her 16-year-old honor student daughter, Angellyh Yambo, was fatally shot in 2022 by 17-year-old Jeremiah Ryan in the Bronx. 'It's unfortunate because it is going to continue to happen every day,' she told The Post this week. 'The elected officials should be doing more. This is alarming. It means more kids are going to die just like my daughter.' She would like to take her children and move away too but she wants to stay close to her daughter's grave. 'I wish I could take my kids and go somewhere else but due to my daughter being buried here, I'm stuck here,' she said. 'I don't want to stay in New York. My daughter and I were going to move to Florida but we are stuck here, she is buried here.' She said kids today don't respect the law. 'I worry when my children go outside,' she said. 'I'm always calling. . . it's a constant battle. That is something I have to live with for the rest of my life.' Retired NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Youth Strategies Kevin O'Connor believes Raise the Age legislation that prevents courts from charging suspects under 18 as adults is a major contributor to the increase in shootings among youth. 'Youth crime in NYC is only down 4% compared to last year,' while overall crime is down 18%, he said. 'It's basically flat. It's all because of 'Raise the Age.' Nobody's being prosecuted in the juvenile world.' The 'Raise the Age' law mandates minors caught with firearms appear in Family Court. Before the law changed, 16- and 17-year-olds were arraigned in criminal court and many of them ended up jailed on Rikers Island. Part of the problem is that judges aren't clued in on a teen's prior charges, which has led to rampant recidivism, said O'Connor. 'The judges can't see prior history when a kid is brought before them,' O'Connor said. 'You need to empower the judge to make a full determination on the kid in front of them, which they cannot do right now,' he said. 'Then, they can actually save this kid from becoming a career criminal.'
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Blame NY's thug-loving progs for the death of innocent bystanders like ‘Momma Zee'
The killing of Excenia 'Momma Zee' Mette stands as a double tragedy: A family — and community — lost a cherished member. And progressives lost one of the very people they claim to be looking out for, thanks to their own foolish policies. Mette was a beloved Harlem bodega-owner and respected community leader. She had recently attended the Rev. Al Sharpton National Action Network's annual convention. Tuesday night, Mette was caught in a deadly gang crossfire and fatally shot in the head when she ran outside to look for her grandson after hearing gunshots. Advertisement New York simply failed to protect her — because its laws, prosecutors and judges leave violent gunmen out on the streets, free to terrorize. They send the message that thugs will pay no price for their heinous deeds. Now Mette's shattered family and neighbors are crying, 'When is it going to stop?' Advertisement Sadly, it won't. Not until progressives put the rights and safety of law-abiding minorities (and others) above the interests of criminal minorities. Indeed, by Wednesday afternoon, just hours after Mette was killed, another innocent bystander — this time 28-year-old plumber's apprentice Marji Daoud, of Yonkers — was also fatally shot in the head when four men opened fire in The Bronx. Don't think such madness is inevitable: Tools like the Shotspotter, the gang database, 'broken windows' policing and other more can do wonders to keep streets safe, but they've been targets of the city and state's progressives. Advertisement Thug-coddling Democrats in the Legislature have resisted sensible fixes that could put violent sociopaths and recidivist gunmen behind bars. And judges and prosecutors have gone soft. Darious Smith, a suspect in the gunfire that led to Momma Zee's death, was out on bail at the time, facing charges he slashed two people with a box cutter. Judge Michael Ryan had lowered the prosecutor's request for $50,000 in bail to just $10,000. 'The police are doing their job. We have to have the other parts of the criminal justice system do their job,' fumed Mayor Eric Adams. Fact is, there's a direct link between these latest killings, pro-crime judges and district attorneys and soft-on-crime laws (cashless bail, Raise the Age, 'discovery' statutes that free perps on technicalities, etc.). Advertisement On Thursday, Mayor Adams made a big show of destroying over 3,500 illegal guns used in violent crimes — but the mayor knows it means nothing if you don't jail the thugs holding the gun. Progressives are steadfastly opposed to that. Their priority is protecting the perps. And too bad for victims like Momma Zee and Marji Daoud. Too bad for victims of color. New Yorkers should remember that Momma Zee's blood is on the hands of every progressive Democrat in Albany and City Hall. Communities like Harlem need to rise up and shout: Enough is enough. And then take their anger with them to the voting booth.
