Day: January 7, 2025

NYPD DATA SHOWS a 14% increase in reported rapes within Patrol Bureau Brooklyn North, which includes a dozen police precincts.

The post Police data shows 14% increase in rape crime in Brooklyn North appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

STATE SEN. ANDREW GOUNARDES applauded Gov. Kathy Hochul on her commitment to expanding New York State’s Child Tax Credit.

The post Gounardes: Working Families Tax Credit best way to reduce child poverty appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

The suspect accused of burning a woman alive on the F train in Brooklyn last month was arraigned on a grand jury indictment Tuesday as faith leaders announced a memorial service for the victim.

Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on first-degree murder charges in the brutal killing on Dec. 22, 2024 that shocked the city.

Law enforcement sources allege that Zapeta-Calil used a lighter to set Debrina Kawam, 57, on fire as she slept aboard a Coney Island F train. Zapeta-Calil, a Guatemalan migrant who ICE says entered the country and was even deported in 2018, is accused of using a jacket to try and fan the flames engulfing her body and the subway car.

Police say the disturbing act was captured on MTA surveillance cameras.

At the Jan. 7 in Brooklyn Criminal Court, Zapeta-Calil pleaded not guilty; he was ordered held in custody indefinitely without bail.

Police say Kawam’s body was so badly burned that it took several days to identify her body through fingerprints. Family representatives say she grew up in Toms River, NJ, but was living in the New York City shelter system at the time of her murder.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Tuesday called the homicide an “atrocious and horrific” act, and said his prosecutors are “determined to exact the most severe punishment for this heinous and inhumane act.”

“Ms. Kawam and her loved ones deserve a measure of justice and New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in the subways,” Gonzalez added.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Zapeta-Calil faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Meanwhile, Reverend Kevin McCall — who says he has been working with the family following the tragedy — announced Tuesday that the family will be holding a memorial service at the First Baptist Church in Sheepshead Bay on Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. According to McCall, the service will allow the Kawam family to honor her life.

“You will hear directly from family and friends that will share more about who she was, what type of individual she was, also people that met her through the system when she was homeless as well,” McCall said outside of the Brooklyn courthouse following the indictment.

McCall attended Zapeta-Calil’s arraignment hearing Tuesday, saying that the suspect deserved to be remanded. Yet he also implied that the case reflected the repercussions of New York City not doing nearly enough to help the homeless and mentally ill.

“This is somebody that needed some type of support, but didn’t get it. He belongs in jail, but is jail the right thing for him to have without having the support of the city of services that the mayor and the governor are supposed to be able to provide? That’s the question to be asked,” McCall said. “But he’s a murderer, so when the judge said that he needs to be remanded, he needs to be remanded.

This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNewYork. 

A ‘MASSIVE’ FIRE BROKE OUT at a vacant home on Miller Street in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, around 2:30 a.m. Monday.

The post Massive fire at vacant home in Cypress Hills appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

RIDESHARE DRIVERS WHO BELIEVE THAT UBER AND LYFT UNDERPAID THEM are urged to file claims before a Jan. 31.

The post NY Attorney General extends deadline for rideshare drivers to claim settlement funds appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.