GUILTY NY - Jeffrey Locker, 52, fatally stabbed, East Harlem, 16 July 2009

[bogeygal]

I hope the crime rates have dropped according to the post above. This murder happened in East Harlem, not Central Harlem, so I'm not sure the statistics above apply. There is crime everywhere, unfortunately.

Here's a website for a non-profit organization in East Harlem. They speak of "soaring crime rates"

http://harlemonestop.com/organization.php?id=447

Snipped: Growing up in East Harlem is tough. The neighborhood, defined by its massive public housing projects, soaring crime rates, and the persistent shadow of drugs and gangs, is hardly fertile ground for a young person to thrive. Public schools are overcrowded and failing, parks and play space are scarce, and families struggle to make ends meet. Against this backdrop, East Harlem children who are born into poverty do not stand much of a chance of making it out. Harlem RBI works hard to ensure that they do.

 

[mae]

I hope the crime rates have dropped according to the post above. This murder happened in East Harlem, not Central Harlem, so I'm not sure the statistics above apply. There is crime everywhere, unfortunately.

Here's a website for a non-profit organization in East Harlem. They speak of "soaring crime rates"

I would not refer to a statement made on a NFP website as a fact or to support a theory especially since there is no citation to back it up. You can always find a specially funded interest group to back up any statement, but that does make it true. However, I hear your point. I was using Central Harlem as an example.

My assertion that your statement that East Harlem is "crime-ridden" is an inaccurate statement is still valid when looking at East Harlem based on CompStat.

According to the NYPD crime statistics, overall crime dropped 73.33% from 1990 to 2008 and 57.5% from 1995 to 2008 in the 23rd precinct (Southern section of East Harlem). And crime complaints are down 72.60% from 1993 to the present.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs023pct.pdf

And in the 25th precinct (Northern section of East Harlem), overall crime dropped 67.16% from 1990 to 2008 and 52.67% from 1995 to 2008. And crime complaints are down 70.67% from 1993 to the present.

NYC has been steadily addressing crime since the early 90s, and the overall statistics show this. And they are continuing to address it. For example, Operation Impact was implemented here, which has been shown to drastically reduce crime in target areas (like my neighborhood).

Crime still exists in East Harlem (and all of Harlem), but it's nothing at all like it was in the crack epidemic, late 80s and early 90s and it's not "crime ridden" and crime rates are not "soaring." CompStat statistics show that, and there are lots of middle class families. My kid has lots of friends that live in the area and he plays there often. And as I said in my original post, it ebbs and flows, but overall Harlem is a gentrifying area with a decreasing overall crime rate and saying it's "crime ridden" is not entirely factual. In fact, the crime rate per 100,000 residents on par with Midtown South and the Lower East Side. And no one would call them "crime ridden."

It would be accurate to say that East Harlem has pockets of higher crime and is marked by poverty. And that crime near housing projects tends to be much higher than elsewhere.


And in this case, the geography is not the cause for the crime--he was also associating with people who engaged in risky, illegal behaviors as a matter of career. Associating with people like that puts a person at risk. A the cliché goes: you play with fire and you might get burned. He could have been in Boise, Idaho, and this still could have happened. Merely being in East Harlem was not the problem. It's a tragedy no matter what, but his choices put him in the position he was in and he gambled and the outcome was horrible.

 

[bogeygal]

I would not refer to a statement made on a NFP website as a fact or to support a theory especially since there is no citation to back it up. You can always find a specially funded interest group to back up any statement, but that does make it true. However, I hear your point. I was using Central Harlem as an example.

My assertion that your statement that East Harlem is "crime-ridden" is an inaccurate statement is still valid when looking at East Harlem based on CompStat.

According to the NYPD crime statistics, overall crime dropped 73.33% from 1990 to 2008 and 57.5% from 1995 to 2008 in the 23rd precinct (Southern section of East Harlem). And crime complaints are down 72.60% from 1993 to the present.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs023pct.pdf

And in the 25th precinct (Northern section of East Harlem), overall crime dropped 67.16% from 1990 to 2008 and 52.67% from 1995 to 2008. And crime complaints are down 70.67% from 1993 to the present.

NYC has been steadily addressing crime since the early 90s, and the overall statistics show this. And they are continuing to address it. For example, Operation Impact was implemented here, which has been shown to drastically reduce crime in target areas (like my neighborhood).

Crime still exists in East Harlem (and all of Harlem), but it's nothing at all like it was in the crack epidemic, late 80s and early 90s and it's not "crime ridden" and crime rates are not "soaring." CompStat statistics show that, and there are lots of middle class families. My kid has lots of friends that live in the area and he plays there often. And as I said in my original post, it ebbs and flows, but overall Harlem is a gentrifying area with a decreasing overall crime rate and saying it's "crime ridden" is not entirely factual. In fact, the crime rate per 100,000 residents on par with Midtown South and the Lower East Side. And no one would call them "crime ridden."

It would be accurate to say that East Harlem has pockets of higher crime and is marked by poverty. And that crime near housing projects tends to be much higher than elsewhere.


And in this case, the geography is not the cause for the crime--he was also associating with people who engaged in risky, illegal behaviors as a matter of career. Associating with people like that puts a person at risk. A the cliché goes: you play with fire and you might get burned. He could have been in Boise, Idaho, and this still could have happened. Merely being in East Harlem was not the problem. It's a tragedy no matter what, but his choices put him in the position he was in and he gambled and the outcome was horrible.

Mae,

My sincerest apologies for using the word crime-ridden. Should have looked up the latest stats that you afforded us with.

I agree that Locker did make a poor choice and gambled with the outcome. We don't know how many times before he frequented the area to see the prostitute, so maybe he didn't worry that something like this could happen to him.

Thanks for all the info you gathered. I feel better educated about Harlem!

 

[fran]

Trial to open in motivational speaker's NYC death

Jurors in the murder case surrounding a motivational speaker's New York City death are about to hear an unusual story: An apparent street crime that the accused man says was actually an assisted suicide.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<more at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MOTIVATIONAL_SPEAKER_KILLED?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

 

[bogeygal]

Thank you Fran!

I had no idea the trial was going to start. Followed this case from the beginning and appreciate you letting us all know.

 

[bogeygal]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...ey_locker_rages_over_at_.html?r=news/ny_crime

A potty-mouthed killer-for-hire will serve 20 years to life in prison for the murder of a Long Island motivational speaker.The killer pointed out that his family was at the trial every day while Locker's family never appeared, and defense lawyer Daniel Gotlin said the motivational speaker's loved ones knew he was depressed and had a death wish.

More at link above...

 

[missyjane77]

This is a very interesting case. Is it convenient or coincidence that he took out the $14mil life insurance policy shortly before his death? And can someone really stab themselves in the abdomen 7 times??

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

On 48 hours mystery right now....this case has always been so interesting to me..

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/n...ed-suicide-of-long-island-counselor.html?_r=0

Mr. Minor, 42, has been jailed at Rikers Island while his bizarre case has worked its way through the courts. In 2011, Mr. Minor was convicted at trial of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years to life. But two years later, an appellate panel threw out the verdict and ordered a new trial, saying the judge had erred in defining assisted suicide to the jurors.

Earlier this year, he was indicted a second time, using the same evidence. This time, the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., asked a grand jury to add a new charge usually reserved for people who help others commit suicide &#8212; second-degree manslaughter &#8212; thus making it possible for a jury to consider either option.

Now, in perhaps the final twist, Mr. Minor&#8217;s lawyer, Daniel J. Gotlin, said on Monday that his client had reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty, to first-degree manslaughter, in return for a sentence of 12 years. With good behavior, Mr. Minor could be released in as little as five years.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.bradfordera.com/news/article_28b0aa4e-4805-11e4-aef8-77a7f4426ab6.html

A man whose chance encounter with a despondent stranger led to a stabbing he called assisted suicide pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter after his murder conviction was overturned in a case that questioned the boundary between killing someone and helping him kill himself.

But Kenneth Minor plans to appeal further, aiming to challenge a procedural issue that arose after his initial conviction was overturned. Minor&#8217;s lawyer argues his client&#8217;s crime amounts to a lesser degree of manslaughter than the first-degree charge to which he pleaded guilty, and he hopes a new appeal will position the case for new consideration of that argument.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Harlem man apologizes for role in death of motivational speaker

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...-death-motivational-speaker-article-1.1980663