TWO BRONX MEN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FATAL SHOOTING IN BEAUTY SALON

Gunman Found Guilty of Murder and Criminal Possession of a Weapon; Co-Defendant Found Guilty of Manslaughter 

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that two Bronx men have been sentenced to prison for the fatal 2016 shooting of a 29-year-old man inside a beauty salon in the West Farms section of the Bronx over a dispute about money. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The victim was shot six times inside a busy beauty salon, in front of multiple patrons. Both defendants will serve many years in prison for their actions.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendants, Jairo Castillo, 33, of 1010 East 178th Street, and Gustavo Guillen, 35, of 788 East 182nd Street, were sentenced today by Bronx Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer. Castillo was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree Murder and eight years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision for second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, sentences to run concurrently. Guillen was sentenced to 11 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision for first-degree Manslaughter. Both defendants were convicted by a jury on June 20, 2019.

 According to the investigation, on August 2, 2016, the victim, Julio Lebron, went to Guillen’s beauty salon, Believe, located at 1941 Southern Boulevard. Lebron and Guillen argued about money owed to Lebron and Lebron demanded that Guillen pay him. The victim left after the confrontation but returned hours later. Guillen called Castillo to his salon. At about 5:40 P.M., while the victim was waiting outside the salon, Castillo showed up. Castillo and Lebron engaged in an argument inside the salon, at which point Castillo shot the victim six times, including three times in the back. He was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital. The defendants fled; Guillen was arrested on August 25, 2016 in New Jersey and Castillo was apprehended in Maryland on March 3, 2017.

SENATOR BIAGGI'S OFFICE: OFFICE CLOSINGS

*IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR ALESSANDRA BIAGGI*

OFFICE CLOSINGS

Between Senate holidays and mandatory staff trainings, our offices will be CLOSED on the following days:

Tuesday, November 5th, 2019 (TOMORROW) – Election Day (Go Vote!)

Friday, November 8th, 2019 – NYC Senate Employee Sexual Harassment Training

Monday, November 11th, 2019 – Veteran's Day (Go thank a veteran!)

Wednesday, November 13th, 2019 – #TeamBiaggi Staff Retreat

Albany Office: 905 Legislative Office Bldg Albany, NY 12247 518-455-3595

District Office: 3190 Riverdale Ave, Suite 2 Bronx, NY 10463 718-822-2049

Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez - Changes at NYPD

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF  

NEW YORK

 

OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER

YDANIS RODRIGUEZ

  

\

  

On The New Changes at NYPD

I want to welcome Commissioner Dermot Shea as he takes on his new role as head of the New York Police Department. As Council Member of a largely working class district and a member of the Public Safety Committee, I want to take this moment to call for the preservation and continuation of hard won concessions in Criminal Justice reform, especially in the area of community relations throughout the City.

 

I want to call on the new Commissioner to continue the good work of the previous administration and to improve those areas that continue to be a challenge. In a City where approximately 67% of the population are people of color, it is time for the NYPD to create more opportunities for all, including for positions of top leadership and to promote Black, Latino and Asian officers.

We want to see a new leadership that does not criminalize poverty and that focuses on investing in creating opportunities for advancement to build paths to success for our youth.

Council Member Ruben Diaz Sr. - Commissioner O’Neill Resign because the Lack of Support from the Mayor

What You Should Know By Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz District 18, Bronx County   Commissioner O’Neill Resign because the Lack of Support from the Mayor     You should know that New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill has announced that he is stepping down from his post and will be entering the private sector.   I am pretty sure that this decision to step down was made because of Commissioner O’Neill’s opposition to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s irresponsible and unwelcome plans to close Rikers Island, and build high rise cages for incarcerated New Yorkers in four of the City’s boroughs.   In addition, I am fairly certain that Commissioner O’Neill’s decision to resign was made because Commissioner O’Neill’s opposition to Mayor de Blasio on Ballot Question #2 which, if voters support it in tomorrow’s election, will expand and strengthen the Civilian Complaint Review Board, placing more scrutiny on our already overworked and underpaid NYPD’s police force.   My dear reader, it is disappointing to think that in a city as diverse as New York, that Mayor de Blasio is not expected to select NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin B. Tucker, who is a minority and has served faithfully for may years, as Commissioner O’Neill’s replacement.   I am Councilman Rev. Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.

MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS DERMOT SHEA NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER

New Commissioner is a 28-year NYPD veteran, currently Chief of Detectives, plans focus on gangs and gun violence

Mayor de Blasio today announced that Dermot Shea will be the next Commissioner of the New York Police Department. Shea began his service as a police officer in 1991, a year New York City faced more than 2,000 murders, and rose through the ranks to become Chief of Detectives, where he has overseen the criminal investigations in the city in addition to targeted efforts to prevent crime from happening.

As the next Police Commissioner, Shea will apply precision policing and Neighborhood Policing to target gang-related violence, take guns off the streets and continue the city’s remarkable reduction in crime. He will take office on December 1^st.

“Dermot Shea is a proven change agent, using precision policing to fight crime and build trust between police and communities. As Chief of Crime Control Strategies and then Chief of Detectives, Dermot was one of the chief architects of the approach that has made New York City the safest big city in America. Dermot is uniquely qualified to serve as our next Police Commissioner and drive down crime rates even further,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “On behalf of all New Yorkers, I want to express deep gratitude to Jimmy O’Neill for dedicating his entire career to keeping our city safe. Jimmy transformed the relationship between New Yorkers and police, and helped to make the Department the most sophisticated and advanced in the country.”

“This is a tremendous honor and a tremendous responsibility and I’m grateful to the Mayor for this privilege to serve,” said Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea. “Police Commissioner O’Neill has been a mentor and a friend to me, and I am committed to building on the incredible success of Neighborhood Policing and precision policing, while continuing my life’s work to eradicate gangs and guns from our streets. Every New Yorker deserves to be safe and feel safe, and that has been my mission since I took the oath and became a police officer 28 years ago. As Police Commissioner, this will be what drives me.”

 “Dermot Shea has exactly the experience and skill to continue to drive down crime, strengthen relationships with the community members we serve and make sure every neighborhood has the safety they deserve," said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “We cannot take the historic crime reductions in New York City for granted, and Dermot’s understanding of the complex issues that lead to crime and disorder, as well as the most effective strategies for addressing these issues, is as good as it gets in policing today.”

Commissioner James O’Neill has presided over the lowest crime rate in New York City since the NYPD started tracking major crime, as well as the fewest number of homicides recorded since the 1950s. The architect of Neighborhood Policing, he oversaw the expansion of Neighborhood

Coordination Officers to every precinct, Police Service Area and transit district as well as reforms to department policy that drove down crime and simultaneously reduced arrests for low-level offenses.

About Dermot Shea:

Shea began his service as a police officer in 1991, a year New York City faced more than 2,000 murders. He rose up the ranks to serve as precinct commander of the 44th and 50th precincts in the Bronx where he oversaw a dramatic reduction in gun violence.

In 2014, Shea was appointed Chief of Crime Control Strategies and Deputy Commissioner for Operations, where he oversaw the CompStat system and honed a new generation of precision approaches that helped drive crime to record lows. He focused the Department not just around arrests, but around intelligence-driven prosecutions in close cooperation with District Attorneys to take dangerous criminals off the street. Shea’s role required him to constantly shift resources to respond to real-time crime trends. In 2018, Shea was promoted to Chief of Detectives, where he oversaw all of the Department’s investigatory operations, including every criminal investigation in the city. Shea overhauled the Special Victims Division to strengthen NYPD’s commitment to survivors of sexual assault.

Shea grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, the son of Irish immigrants.  He holds a Bachelor of Science from SUNY Oneonta. He and his wife Serena live in Manhattan and have three children: Jackie, Lauren and Richie, as well as grandson, Aidan, and a dog named Miley.

Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez to Congress Campaign Kickoff

Giving the Bronx 'X' Manhattan Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez held a Bronx kickoff to his campaign for Bronx Congressional District 15 currently occupied by Congressman Jose Serrano who has made it known that he is ending his long career in congress. Councilman Rodriguez joins two other current City Council members Ruben Diaz Sr. and Ritchie Torres and former City Council Speaker Mellisa Mark-Viverito. Also in the race is Assemblyman Michael Blake and a number of first timers.

At Sunday's event attended by over seventy-five people, it seemed to be more of a meet and greet for Rodriguez. While he ran for Public Advocate in the recent special election, he is trying to capitalize on his number of votes. However the main supporter of Councilman Rodriguez in the special election is running against him in the 15th Congressional Democratic Primary.

Candidate for Congress Rodriguez is using much of his strategy from the Public Advocate race that being he is the only immigrant in the race in a district loaded with immigrants. Former 15th City Council candidate Joel Rivera  who lost to Ritchie Torres sees another battle with Torres, but as a campaign manger not a candidate. There seems to be a connection to Congressman Adriano Espaillat, as Councilman Rodriguez announced his candidacy after State Senator Gustavo Rivera dropped out of the congressional race. Both Rivera and Rodriguez have ties to Espaillat.    

A photo of those on hand Sunday at the Grand Slam Catering Hall located on East Tremont Avenue.

Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association Community Meeting - Tuesday Nov.12

The next meeting  of the Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association will be on Tuesday  Nov.12 at Bronx House,990 Pelham Parkway South at 7:15 pm.

Bronx Chamber of Commerce Veterans Luncheon - Thursday November 14th