Friday, July 14, 2023

VCJC News & Notes 7/14/23

 

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
News and Notes

Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

Reminders

  1. Shabbos

    Shabbos information is, as always, available on our website, both in the information sidebar and the events calendar.
    Here are the times you need:  
    Shabbos Candles Friday 7/14/23 @ 8:08 pm
    Shabbos morning services at 8:40 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely. 
    Shabbos Ends Saturday 7/15/23 @ 9:11 pm
     

  2. Blood Drive, Sunday July 30 from 9:30 to 2
    Full information is on our blog.

  3. Attention Members!  VCJC committees are now being formed.
    Committee membership is open to all VCJC members.  The committees are a vital part of operating VCJC. Read about them here.

  4. Several new shiurim have been posted
    Take a look and give us your thoughts!  See the sidebar of the website or the Blog & News page.

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
3880 Sedgwick Ave
Bronx, NY 10463

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson - Boogie on the Boulevard - CANCELED

 

Dear Neighbor,


Unfortunately, Boogie on the Boulevard, originally scheduled for tomorrow Saturday, July 15th, is canceled. The event will be rescheduled and we will share a new date soon.


As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 718-590-3500 or email us at webmail@bronxbp.nyc.gov.

 

In partnership,

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson




Statement Of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams On The Arrest Of Sophia Marks

 

“Last night, my Office, the Southern District of New York, authorized the arrest of Sophia Marks in connection with her distribution of fake oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl.  At least one of Marks’s counterfeit pills was purchased and taken by a teenager who subsequently died of a suspected overdose.  The arrest was critical because, as we allege, Marks knew the pills could kill, and she continued selling them anyway.  The investigation is ongoing.

Fentanyl is now the number one killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49.  More than cancer, car accidents, or gun violence.  It is a law enforcement crisis and a public health crisis.  And we are doing everything we can to stop it.” 

SOPHIA MARKS, 20, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and alprazolam, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and two counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, each of which also carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

QUEENS MAN INDICTED FOR STABBING HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND AND THEIR 9-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, ASSAULTING THEIR TEEN DAUGHTER

 

Girls Injured When They Came to Mother’s Aid; Ex-Girlfriend’s Son Witnessed the Attack on His Kindergarten Graduation Day

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Queens man has been indicted for Attempted Murder and other charges for stabbing his ex-girlfriend and their 9-year old daughter, as well as assaulting their 14-year-old daughter when the girls came to their mother’s aid, after a graduation celebration. The woman’s 6-year-old son watched as the defendant knifed his mother in the head.

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly went to the Bronx home of his exgirlfriend with whom he shares three daughters and allegedly stabbed her. Two of his daughters tried to stop him and he allegedly struck one of them in the face and stabbed the other in her leg. When the victim’s six-year-old son came home, the defendant allegedly threatened everyone and continued to attack the mother. We will get justice for this family and help the children through their traumatization.”

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Terrence Colson, 38, of Queens, NY, was arraigned today on Attempted Murder in the second degree, Attempted Assault in the first and second degree, three counts of second-degree Assault, three counts of third-degree Assault, three counts of second-degree Menacing, two counts of fourth-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, three counts of second-degree Aggravated Harassment, four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Attempted Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Connie Morales. Bail was set at $150,000 cash, $350,000 bond, and $350,000 partially secured bond, and the defendant is due back in court on July 28, 2023.

 According to the investigation, on June 26, 2023, at approximately 6:00 p.m., the defendant was at the Westchester Avenue apartment of Amelia Holmes, after celebrating the graduation of her son. The defendant allegedly cut Holmes in the chest with a kitchen knife. When two of their daughters, ages 14 and 9, attempted to stop him from stabbing their mother, the defendant allegedly struck the 14-year-old in the face with the knife handle and punched her in the face, leaving her with a bruised eye and bleeding lip. Colson allegedly stabbed the 9-year-old in her right leg, leaving her with a laceration that required seven stitches. He then allegedly slashed Holmes’ hands, each requiring multiple stitches, and punched her about the body. When the victim’s eldest daughter and six-year-old son arrived at the residence, the defendant pulled the boy into the home and slammed the door. The boy then watched as the defendant allegedly stabbed Holmes in the back of her head, leaving her with a laceration that required five staples to close.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Assistant District Attorney John Longo of Trial Bureau 30, Assistant District Attorney Devin Horzempa of Trial Bureau 60, and Crime Victims Assistance Bureau Advocate Andreina Baez for their assistance in the case. District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Tomor Berisha and William Sanchez of the 43rd Precinct Detective Squad for their work in the investigation.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.