Suspect arrested in Central Park rape case

[The Bobster]

Suspect arrested in Central Park rape case also busted in Florida assault

Paulie Velez was nabbed and now charged with rape, robbery, strangulation, assault, sex abuse and criminal possession of stolen property.

nypost.com

Suspect arrested in Central Park rape case​

By
Dean Balsamini


November 13, 2021 8:10am
Updated

On Thursday, November 11, 2021, police responded to a 911 call of an assault in the vicinity of Swan Lake and Center Drive, in the confines of the Central Park Precinct. Upon arrival, officers determined that an unknown male approached a 27 year old female from behind choked her and then raped her. DCPI

​

Cops have collared a homeless man in the shocking rape of a woman in Central Park.
Paulie Velez, 25, was nabbed at 12:50 a.m. Saturday, the NYPD said. He’s now charged with rape, robbery, strangulation, assault, sex abuse and criminal possession of stolen property, authorities said.
Velez, clad in a knit hat, white T-shirt, jeans and a black surgical mask, said nothing as cops led him out of the Fifth Precinct station house to a waiting unmarked car early Saturday. He is expected to be arraigned at Manhattan Criminal Court.
Velez allegedly approached the 27-year-old victim from behind as she ran on a footpath near the pond in the park’s southeastern corner at around 7:20 a.m. Thursday, placing her in a chokehold until she lost consciousness and raping her, police said.
Velez was seen wearing black pants and shirts, with a black baseball cap and mask to match, as he entered a train station through an open emergency exit door — beating the fare, according to security footage released by the NYPD.
The victim reached out to a passerby for help, and was taken to a hospital, NYPD Inspector Michael King said at a Thursday briefing, adding there would be increased patrols in the Manhattan park after the attack.
Just 25 minutes later, a man who was released from state prison earlier this week allegedly tried to rape a 54-year-old jogger on Randall’s Island, before he was scared off by a bystander, sources said.
Paulie Velez was nabbed and now charged with rape, robbery, strangulation, assault, sex abuse and criminal possession of stolen property.DCPI
Registered sex offender Howard Shaw, 38, was charged in that attack.

 

[The Bobster]

Alleged Central Park rapist Paulie Velez sent to jail without bail

Paulie Velez was sent to jail without bail Saturday as a prosecutor contended he had previously fled criminal charges in the Sunshine State.

nypost.com

Alleged Central Park rapist Paulie Velez sent to jail without bail​

By
Steven Vago and

Melissa Klein


November 13, 2021 9:16pm
Updated

Paulie Velez is arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court forraping a woman in Central Park near Swan Lake . Velez who is homeless was remanded to jail. Curtis Means for DailyMail.com

​

Accused Central Park rapist Paulie Velez was sent to jail without bail Saturday as a prosecutor contended he had previously fled criminal charges in the Sunshine State.
Jacqueline Studley, the assistant district attorney, said Velez, 25, has a felony assault conviction in Florida.
“The defendant stated he cut off his ankle monitor and fled,” Studley said.
Velez, who was wearing a purple dress shirt and blue slacks, swayed back and forth in front of the Manhattan Criminal Court judge and inaudibly mumbled at times.
He was arrested early Saturday and charged in the rape of a 27-year-old woman who was out for a jog in Central Park Thursday morning.
“The defendant raped a stranger in Central Park, and was captured on video fleeing from the scene and was in possession of the victim’s phone,” Studley said.
The NYPD caught him running from his mother’s house in Queens. When cops showed up to arrest him, Velez jumped into a “body of water,” she added.
Velez has convictions in Pennsylvania and Las Vegas, and has a New York bench warrant from February 2020, Studley noted.
A police official told The Post he was wanted in Miami-Dade County, Fla, on a sex assault. Florida records show he was arrested in February 2020 and charged with kidnapping, sexual battery and battery.
Jacqueline Studley, the assistant district attorney, said Paulie Velez, 25, has a felony assault conviction in Florida.Loudlabs
Velez is due back in court Friday for the rape case and on Dec. 13 on the fugitive warrant from Florida.
Velez’s mother and grandparents were in the courtroom and waved when he entered.
A court officer chastised them saying “Folks, you can’t be doing that.”
As Velez was escorted out he shouted, “I love you. I’ll call you when I get a chance.”
His family was escorted out of the building by Velez’s attorney, Chelsey Amelkin of Legal Aid, and refused to comment.

 

[The Bobster]

‘I just grabbed her,’ accused Central Park rapist allegedly told cops

Accused Central Park rapist Paulie Velez allegedly admitted to cops that he “just grabbed” a jogger in an attempt to rob her — but denied trying to hurt her.

nypost.com

‘I just grabbed her,’ accused Central Park rapist allegedly told cops​

By
Tamar Lapin


December 20, 2021 6:34pm
Updated









Perp walk of Central Park rape suspect Paulie Velez



0:00
/
0:51

​

Accused Central Park rapist Paulie Velez allegedly admitted to cops that he “just grabbed” a jogger in an attempt to rob her — but denied trying to hurt her, according to court papers obtained by The Post on Monday.
Velez, 25, was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on a four-count indictment charging him with rape, robbery, sexual abuse and strangulation in the chilling Nov. 11 daytime attack of a 27-year-old victim on a footpath near Swan Lake.
“I just grabbed her and threw her, I wasn’t trying to hurt her,” Velez allegedly told police after being taken into custody on Nov. 12, court documents show.
“I guess since I was holding her she kind of like dozed out,” he allegedly continued. “She fell on the floor I didn’t mean to make her hit her head. I got up. I took her phone and ran. They said I raped her, but I didn’t.”
Velez, who is also facing charges of kidnapping and sex assault stemming from a February 2020 case in Miami, Florida, said he cut off his ankle bracelet and traveled to New York, where he lived in a shelter in Brooklyn for about a month.
He claimed to detectives that on the morning of the attack, he left shelter with the intention of getting a food stamps debit card, but ended up smoking crack on the subway with some “guy” that he met.
Paulie Velez, 25, is accused of raping a jogger in Central Park on November 11, 2021.Steven Hirsch
Later in the day, he wound up in Central Park where cops allege he put the woman in a chokehold until she lost consciousness and took her phone after raping her.
“I just needed money,” he allegedly told cops. “She woke up, she thought I was trying to rape her.” He claimed he told her “I’m sorry” then “ran and grabbed her phone… It stopped cuz her waking up, getting up.”
In a second interview with detectives at around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 13, Velez allegedly said he was sitting on a bench stewing about his ex-girlfriend in the Sunshine State getting married.
Paulie Velez is also facing charges of kidnapping and sex assault stemming from a February 2020 case in Miami, Florida.Steven Hirsch
He then decided to “take money, rob somebody,” the filing alleges.
“You know it’s not the right thing and all that stuff, but you think about the things you went through and you just muster up all that anger and think, ‘well screw it, lets do it,’” he allegedly told cops.
The document states that Velez saw a woman walking nearby with her dog and allegedly ran up behind her and put her in a chokehold, causing both of them to fall.
Paulie Velez allegedly described grabbing the victim, and the two of them falling to the floor.
He then allegedly “grabbed her body a little bit and slipped a finger in her,” according to the filing.
When she came to, he allegedly grabbed her phone and ran off, pawning it less than an hour later for around $20.
Later that day, he showed up at his mom’s house in Howard Beach, according to the court docs and cops.
“She came out crying saying you are all over the news, they’re looking for you,” the court documents state.
Velez was arrested the next day after a short-lived escape attempt from cops who arrived at his mother’s house.

He ran and jumped into a “body of water” to try to shake cops before he was taken into custody, authorities said.
Velez pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. He is being held in jail without bail and his next hearing is scheduled for April 4, 2022.

 

[The Bobster]

Central Park Five pol candidate Yusef Salaam calls himself a doctor — but he’s not

Harlem Council candidate Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated defendants in the infamous Central Park jogger rape case, touts himself as “Dr.” Salaam despite critics pointing out that he…

nypost.com

Central Park Five pol candidate Yusef Salaam calls himself a doctor — but he’s not​

By
Carl Campanile


May 23, 2023 8:22pm
Updated













Harlem Council candidate Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated defendants in the infamous Central Park jogger rape case, touts himself as “Dr.” Salaam in his biography — but critics have pointed out that he’s not really a doctor in the traditional sense.
Salaam is not a medical doctor, nor has he earned a college doctorate in any field.
He instead uses the prestigious title based on an honorary degree awarded by the Anointed by God Ministries Alliance, which is a non-accredited online school.
“You’re a doctor in name only. You’re not even accredited,” said one Democratic strategist, who requested anonymity.
Political sources added that a candidate for public office loosely using the Dr. title based on a symbol honorific degree could run into trouble on the campaign trail.
But the Salaam campaign defended his Dr. title and called the criticism a cheap shot that could backfire.
“Yusef Salaam received an honorary Doctorate from a community organization in recognition of his decades-long work to reform a racially biased criminal justice system that wrongfully imprisoned him for nearly 7 years for a crime he didn’t commit,” said Salaam campaign manager Jordan Wright.

Harlem Council candidate Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated defendants in the infamous Central Park jogger rape case, touts himself as “Dr.” Salaam despite critics pointing out that he’s not a real doctor.AP
“His bio has always correctly identified this as an honorary title, and opponents’ attempts to cheapen or trivialize the adversity he has overcome will not succeed.”


Political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said he had no problem with Salaam referring to himself as Dr. given his wrongful imprisonment and the fact that faith-based groups often award honorary degrees.


“If he wants to call himself royal highness,” Sheinkopf said, “he should be called royal highness.”

Yusef Salaam arrives at State Supreme Court in New York, in this Aug. 1990 file photo. AP
The current Harlem councilwoman, Kristen Richardson Jordan, shook up the race last week when she announced she would not seek re-election, just weeks before the June 27 Democratic primary.


That leaves Salaam locked in a competitive race with two Harlem Democrat Assembly members — Inez Dickens and Al Taylor.





Salaam on Tuesday announced the endorsement of former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields and has the backing of Manhattan Democratic leader Keith Wright, who resides in the district.


Dickens announced the endorsements of the United Federation of Teachers and the 150-group Greater Harlem Coalition over the past two days.