Wednesday Crime Blotter: Arrest in Road-Rage Murder, ‘Tis The Season for Package Thieves & More

BATH BEACH – A Staten Island man has been arrested and charged in the road rage killing of Faizal Coto, an FDNY firefighter and aspiring musician.

Yesterday, the NYPD announced Joseph Desmond, 29, had been charged with murder after the Bay Parkway altercation on Sunday, December 9. Desmond allegedly beat Coto with an unknown object, leaving him to die by the side of the road just before dawn.

Desmond is reportedly a member of the Latin Kings gang and faces 25 years to life if convicted. He is being held without bail and will return to court on March 1, 2019.

CYPRESS HILLS – Police are looking for the man who robbed a woman at gunpoint in broad daylight on Grand Avenue in Cypress Hills earlier this week.

The suspect approached his 39-year-old victim from behind on out 218 Grant Avenue on Monday, December 17, around 1:30 pm, police said. Brandishing a handgun, the robber stole her cell phone, $100 cash and a wallet containing six credit cards before fleeing on foot.

Surveillance video of the robbery can be seen below:

CROWN HEIGHTS – A package thief stole from a residence near Troy Avenue and Eastern Parkway, but was caught on a security camera. Now, police are trying to track him down.

The burglary took place around 2:00 am on Saturday, December 15, police said, at a residence near Eastern Parkway and Troy Avenue. The thief used a screwdriver to force entry into the vestibule, where he grabbed a box of sunglasses valued at $1,300, police said.

A surveillance photo can be seen below:

A tweet from another nearby resident that alleges a burglar stole from their vestibule around 2:30 am on the same night appears to show the same suspect:

WILLIAMSBURG – Another package thief struck in Williamsburg recently, this time at an apartment building near Broadway and Hooper, police said.

The suspect gained entry to the apartment building by forcing open the front door around 6:30 pm on Tuesday, December 11, police said. Once inside, he stole a package containing a pair of shoes from a 29-year-old resident’s front door, police said.

Surveillance video of the sneaker thief can be seen below:

Anyone with information in regard to any of these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.