NYPD cop illegally taped one-night stand, then blackmailed woman
A Queens woman is suing the NYPD and the city after she claims an off-duty cop recorded their one night stand without permission, then threatened to release the clips if she told anyone about the encounter.
Valentina Veleva, 35, alleges that veteran cop Miguel Delacruz recorded her giving him oral sex naked in his Jackson Heights apartment on March 14, 2017, and then told her to leave.
When Veleva tried to contact him the next morning, Delacruz sent her 12 seconds of the lurid clip, and threatened to share it if she told anyone about the encounter, as he is married with a child, court papers said.
Veleva also alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that Delacruz threatened her by texting, “Got more [pornographic clips]” and claiming he “didn’t know why Valentina was complaining about it because Valentina is probably the fiftieth girl he had recorded.”
“When he sent me the first video I dropped my phone and I didn’t know how to react at that point,” Veleva told The Post by phone.
The pair had known each other for about a year as they both frequented a bar and hookah lounge in Astoria. They had sex that night after an “obviously intoxicated” Delacruz drove her back to his place, the court papers allege.
After she left at 3 a.m., Delacruz allegedly told Veleva that “he had cameras in his apartment and that he had recorded Valentina.” And he “threatened Valentina that he would disseminate the recordings if she did not keep her mouth shut,” the court filing alleges.
Upon seeing the videos, with the realization that Delacruz was “a popular guy in Valentina’s circle of friends,” she suffered, “humiliation, anxiety, terror and paranoia that Delacruz either already disseminated this … or that he soon would,” the court papers allege.
“He made fun of me and told me I’m the 50th girl that he recorded,” Veleva said. “He said he didn’t know why I made it such a big deal. I just started crying.”
“I was embarrassed, but mostly I was scared because you know how something like that can circle around on the internet,” Veleva said.
Veleva reported the incident to the NYPD, the DA’s office and even initiated a Family Court proceeding but Delacruz still hasn’t been criminally charged with unlawful surveillance, the court papers claim.
Veleva said she’s “continued to call” the DA’s office, has written to DA Melinda Katz but has been “mocked and treated unprofessionally by high level members of the Queens County District Attorney’s Office who have called her credibility into question,” the court documents allege.
Veleva also says there was a conflict of interest into the probe of Delacruz as NYPD Sergeant Cliff Nieves was assigned to look into the matter at the same time that he himself was being investigated by the DA’s office.
Nieves was arrested on Sept. 12, 2018 in a major bust of cops allegedly involved in a gambling and prostitution ring. He pleaded not guilty in that case which is still pending trial.
Veleva says the DA’s office should have recused itself from her case as it “created a clear conflict of interest by investigating both Sergeant Cliff Nieves and allowing Sergeant Cliff Nieves to investigate Delacruz; both investigated by the Public Integrity Unit,” the suit charges.
“I’m hoping that I’m going to have some kind of justice at the end of the day because it’s just not fair,” Veleva said.
“It is disgusting how the NYPD and the Queens DA mishandled this case from the beginning, and they continue to victimize this young lady by refusing to take her complaint seriously,” said her lawyer Joe Murray. “We are seeking to correct that now.”
Veleva is suing for unspecified damages.
A lawyer for Delacruz did not immediately return request for comment.
“We take every complaint of this nature very seriously, and Ms Veleva’s was no exception. This matter was thoroughly and carefully reviewed before investigators determined there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal case,” a Queens DA spokesperson said.
A spokesman with the city Law Department said, “we’ll review this case.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/01/nypd-cop-illegally-taped-one-night-stand-blackmailed-woman/
Photo Credit: Instagram
California shooting: Child victim was 9-year-old boy who died in mom’s arms
The youngest victim of the gunman who slaughtered four people in Orange, California was a 9-year-old boy who died in his mother’s arms, officials revealed Thursday — and the shooter knew them all through the real estate business where they all worked.
“They were all known to each other,” county District Attorney Todd Spitzer told reporters, revealing that the shooting was not random and identifying the lone shooter at an afternoon press conference as Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, 44, of Fullerton, had “issues” with his co-workers at the location, a mobile home real estate office suite, Spitzer said.
“It appears a little boy died in his mother’s arms as she tried to save him,” the visibly angry prosecutor told reporters.
“He will suffer and face the consequences,” he added of Gonzalez, calling the “horrific rampage” death penalty-eligible.
“Our hearts today go out to the victims. We pray for one of the victims who is still in the hospital who underwent emergency procedures,” he added, an apparent reference to the boy’s mother.
Gonzalez also remains in the hospital with critical injuries after suffering a “police-involved shooting” during his arrest.
Dramatic video shows the alleged gunman being dragged from the property by police.
Officials said at the press conference that shots were still being fired when officers arrived at 5:30 p.m. local time Wednesday at the scene, a two-story office building 30 miles south of Los Angeles.
Gonzalez used bicycle-type locks to secure the gates on the north and south end of the complex’s courtyard, temporarily barring police from entering as the shots were being fired, officials said.
The suspect was shot through one of the gates, which were then forced open, they said.
Inside the courtyard, officers found the 9-year-old boy who died, being cradled by a woman who was also injured.
The three other victims — two women and a man — were found inside the office complex.
Officials said the shootings were centered on a real estate and contracting business called Unified Homes.
They recovered at the scene a semi-automatic handgun and a backpack holding pepper spray, handcuffs and ammo that are believed to belong to the suspect, officials said.
The victims, whose identities have not been released, all shared personal and business connections to Gonzalez, officials said. The child is the son of one of the employees of Unified Homes.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/01/california-shooting-suspect-idd-as-aminadab-gaxiola-gonzalez/
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
MO Woman fatally shoots boyfriend after seeing him videoconference with ex-girlfriend
SPANISH LAKE, Mo. (KMOV.com) – A St. Louis County woman on Wednesday was charged with murder in the shooting death of her boyfriend.
St. Louis County police said they were called to the shooting in the 11000 block of Iguana Terrace just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Charging documents say Shaquavia Willis, 29, was driving her boyfriend, Christian Stewart, 33, home when he began videoconferencing with his ex-girlfriend and her child. Willis decided to end the relationship, charges say, and Stewart then followed Willis to her home, where they parked their vehicles in the parking lot of the apartment complex on Iguana Terrance.
Witnesses, police said, reported hearing gunshots and then saw Stewart running from his car. They then reported seeing Willis exit her car, run towards Stewart and fire her gun while he was running away. Willis, police said, turned herself in and admitted she obtained the gun two weeks prior to the shooting. She allegedly told police she stopped shooting only because there were no more bullets in the clip.
Stewart, of the 1300 block of Monclair Avenue in St. Louis, was pronounced dead at the scene. Willis is charged with second degree murder and armed criminal action.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477 and leave an anonymous tip.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/woman-shoots-and-kills-man-in-spanish-lake-police-say/article_1e9e3b2e-91bf-11eb-9308-f71a33801cde.html?block_id=990844
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Massachusetts mom allegedly beaten to death with rock by son’s father
A Massachusetts man has been charged with fatally beating the mother of his young son, bashing her in the head with a rock during a stroll on a Maine beach, court records show.
Jeffrey Buchannan, 33, of Bedford, was taken into custody Friday on a murder charge following the gruesome slaying of Rhonda Pattelena, 35, at Short Sands Beach in York, Maine, state police said.
Buchannan, the father of one of Pattelena’s three sons, told cops he did not remember the killing, according to a court affidavit obtained by the Bangor Daily News.
Buchannan told police he saw a man running toward him while Pattelena made hand gestures behind his back as they were at the beach. Feeling threatened, Buchannan said he “blacked out” and then remembered only walking away from the Bedford woman, according to the affidavit.
Firefighters later found Pattelena dead on the beach, where she had “significant trauma” to her face and head. Blood was also found on the sand beneath her head, the affidavit states.
Investigators also recovered a rock near her body that may have been used as the murder weapon, according to the affidavit. An autopsy determined Pattelena died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Buchannan allegedly killed Pattelena behind a large rock and the attack was caught on surveillance video investigators obtained from nearby businesses, the affidavit said.
The footage shows Buchannan initially hit Pattelena as her back was turned before he struck her several additional times, the court document shows.
Buchannan, who is being held without bail, is set to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Alfred, Maine.
Pattelena, who moved to Bedford months earlier, loved going to the beach and considered those in York to be her favorite escape, the Boston Globe reported.
“We used to go there every summer, every summer,” Pattelena’s sister, Jessica Pattelena, told the newspaper. “She was a mermaid. She loved the beach. She always had her toes in the sand. She loved the waves.”
Friday’s slaying came after Buchannan had recently reentered Pattelena’s life, the newspaper reported.
“She just really loved him,” said Pattelena’s friend, Melissa Matranga. “She saw good in him when there really was no good in him. She just wanted to believe that he was her soulmate.”
Buchannan pleaded guilty in 2017 to assaulting and kidnapping Pattelena, along with her two sons from previous relationships, court records cited by the Globe show. He was sentenced to two years in prison after Pattelena told cops he attacked her and wouldn’t let her children leave her home in Lawrence, the newspaper reported.
An online fundraiser set up to offset Pattelena’s funeral costs surpassed $38,000 as of Tuesday. The single mother is survived by her three sons, Bobby, 17, Noah, 14, and 2-year-old Jaxson.
“My best friend’s life was taken away due to domestic violence,” Matranga wrote.
“Her life was taken too soon and we are all still in shock.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/30/massachusetts-mom-beaten-to-death-with-rock-by-sons-father/
Photo Credit: York County Jail/Facebook
‘Hoarder’ found mummified under pile of garbage in Queens house –
A 66-year-old hoarder — who was a former film and television production designer — was found mummified in her Queens home under a massive pile of garbage, police said.
The woman’s sister told police she had not heard from Evelyn Sakash, who was described as a “heavy hoarder,” since October 2020.
The sister had recently come to New York to find Sakash and hired a cleaning crew to clear out the woman’s house in College Point on 123 Street to see if she was inside, cops said.
The cleaners discovered Sakash’s mummified body around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday under debris in the kitchen, according to police.
No criminality was suspected in her death.
Sakash has production credits on IMDB for dozens of projects from the 1980s to the mid 2010s.
Some of her most well known work can be seen on “Sesame Street,” “Law and Order” and “Orange is the New Black.”
“We miss you Evelyn, my dear talented, soulful friend,” a contributor posted on a GoFundMe page to raise costs to cover her funeral.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/31/hoarder-found-mummified-in-her-queens-house-cops/
Photo Credit: GoFundMe
Two killed when plane used for gender reveal crashes in Cancun
A gender reveal in Mexico went tragically wrong when a plane streaming a sign about a baby girl plunged into the waters off Cancun – killing two people on board while the parents-to-be and their guests watched in horror from a boat, according to reports.
The expecting couple, their family and friends were watching the flyover in glee in the Nichupte Lagoon off the coast of the resort city about 3:30 pm Tuesday, The US Sun reported.
“It’s a girl!” the guests are heard screaming as the single-engine Cessna 206, which was rented from a company called Xomex, flew overhead and performed a series of stunts, according to the outlet.
One person on the boat even made a chilling joke, saying, “It’s all good as long as it doesn’t end up crashing into us!”
Moments later, the prescient comment almost ended up happening when the aircraft nosedived into the lagoon, turning what had been a joyous celebration into an abject nightmare.
“Surely this can’t be happening!” one shocked attendee shouted.
Local media reported that there had been between two and four passengers aboard the plane, which took off from Holbox, about 40 miles from Cancun.
One of the people died while the rescue operation was underway, Francisco Fernández Millán, president of the Nautical Association of Quintana Roo, said in a statement, according to La Prensa Latina.
The other person died while receiving first aid by first-responder, the outlet reported.
It was not immediately clear if the victims included the pilots.
The Federal Civil Aviation Agency has launched an investigation into the tragedy.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/31/two-killed-when-plane-crashes-in-cancun-during-gender-reveal/
Photo Credit: NewsFlash
Inappropriate SpongeBob episodes get pulled by streaming services as in one episode there was a case of the “Clam Flu”
(CNN) — Two “SpongeBob SquarePants” episodes are no longer available on Paramount+ and Amazon because of inappropriate content.
One episode, “Kwarantined Crab,” from the show’s 12th season, centers on a virus storyline. “We have decided to not air it due to sensitivities surrounding the global, real-world pandemic,” a spokesperson for Nickelodeon told CNN Business.
In the episode, a health inspector comes to the Krusty Krab and finds a case of the “Clam Flu” in the restaurant. Upon this discovery, the health inspector quarantines the patrons, and the characters grow anxious. Those who are assumed to have the virus are shunned and tossed in a freezer.
The removal of the “Kwarantined Crab” comes during a time of increased anti-Asian violence in the United States. The episode’s storyline reflects feelings of increased isolation and hatred that many Asian communities have experienced since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The World Health Organization has urged people to avoid terms like “Chinese virus” or because they can create a backlash against people of Asian descent, though former President Donald Trump repeatedly ignored such pleas.
Another episode called “Mid-Life Crustacean” has been out of rotation since 2018. In it, SpongeBob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs break into a woman’s house and steal her underwear. “We determined some story elements were not kid-appropriate,” the Nickelodeon spokesperson said.
via: https://www.kmov.com/inappropriate-spongebob-episodes-get-pulled-by-streaming-services/article_aefe2a3a-c353-560a-85f5-e8f9ff6f3968.html
Photo Credit: Nickelodeon/from YouTube
7-year-old New York boy charged with rape
A 7-year-old boy from upstate New York has been charged with rape, a report said Tuesday.
The child, of Brasher Falls near the Canadian border, was arrested by state police in connection with an incident that happened on Thanksgiving, according to local station WWNY.
He was charged with third-degree rape on March 23, the CBS affiliate said.
The boy was released and will be reportedly tried in Family Court.
A Queens attorney who handles youth defense cases told the station the case is “absurd.”
“Instinctually, it shouldn’t happen that a 7 year old — I don’t think you even could really realize what you’re doing at 7 years old,” Anthony Martone told the station.
“They’d have to prove he actually physically committed this act, which to me it almost seems to be an impossibility.”
Martone reportedly said it appears the boy is being charged as a juvenile delinquent, but a bill pending in Albany would raise the age threshold for that charge from 7 to 12.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/30/7-year-old-new-york-boy-charged-with-rape/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Michael Strahan says goodbye to the signature gap in his teeth when he seemingly closed the famous gap
The “Good Morning America” host, 49, shocked fans on Tuesday when he seemingly closed the famous gap in his front teeth.
In a video posted on Instagram, Strahan showed the process of his mouth makeover with Smile Design Manhattan.
“I did it. #GoodbyeGap,” he captioned the clip.
Strahan knew he would get some backlash for the decision, and even listed all the people he expected would disapprove — including his followers, friends, business partners and family.
But ultimately, the former NFL player said, “I gotta do what I wanna do for myself.”
Revealing the final result, which he said was “50 years in the making,” the footballer was left nearly speechless.
“I love it, holy f—k!,” he exclaimed, laughing giddily.
Strahan previously revealed that he has considered altering his smile in the past, telling Elle in 2012 that he once had a dentist show him mock-ups when he was in his twenties, but ultimately decided against it.
“There’s so much pressure to be perfect. You can fix everything now. For me, I made the conscious effort to say, ‘This is who I am.’ I’m not perfect. I don’t want to try to be perfect,” he said at the time.
“At this point, I don’t think my kids would recognize me without it. They’d be like, ‘Who is this stranger in the house? Call 911!’”
Longtime fans immediately took to Twitter to vent their frustrations. “This man just lost all his super powers,” one person said. Another wrote, “This is definitely one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. Strahan’s gap is iconic. It’s like Robert De Niro’s mole or Tom Selleck’s mustache. You don’t just get rid of that nonchalantly.”
While there were fans who lamented the change in Strahan’s comments, fellow player Troy Aikman said, “Good for you!” and “Jersey Shore” star Jenni Farley wrote, “Whatever makes you happy.”
However, the big news could be nothing more than an elaborate prank: As former Giants player Justin Tuck (among others) pointed out, April Fools’ Day is coming up on Thursday.
via: https://pagesix.com/2021/03/30/michael-strahan-says-goodbye-to-the-gap-in-his-teeth/?_ga=2.52676015.622973354.1616984931-593493795.1608856676
Photo Credit: Instagram
Maryland mom slashed 3-year-old daughter’s throat with scissors
A Maryland mother allegedly slashed her 3-year-old daughter’s neck with a pair of scissors — then turned the blade on herself on Saturday, police said.
The suspect, Anne Akers, 28, was hit with an attempted murder charge for the alleged attack inside her home in the Wheaton-Glenmont neighborhood near Washington, DC, police said.
A relative called police that morning when she went to the house and found blood on the floor, according to Montgomery County Police.
Cops responded to the house and found Akers, holding a blanket, on a bedroom floor with a wound to her throat.
The cops then tried to treat Akers’ wound and pulled off the blanket she was holding, cops said.
Underneath, they found her 3-year-old daughter with a “life-threatening” cut on her neck, authorities said.
The toddler was rushed to a local hospital via helicopter, where she is expected to survive.
The mother was hit with a number of charges for the alleged slashing, including attempted murder.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/30/maryland-mom-slashed-3-year-old-daughters-throat-with-scissors-cops/
Photo Credit: Montgomery County Department of Police