Weekend Police Blotter: Brutal Stabbing, Convenience Store Robbery, And More

It was a rough weekend for some in southern Brooklyn. Here’s what you need to know:

Police responded to a 911 call on Saturday morning, October 8, at around 7:45am.

When they arrived at the location, 1871 Haring St near Avenue S, police found Michael Ricotta, 44, unconscious and unresponsive with multiple stab wounds to his chest.

EMS pronounced him dead when they arrived at the scene. No arrests have been made yet, and the investigation is ongoing, according to police.

A 14-year-old boy was reported missing yesterday.

Stephen Byrd was last seen on Friday, October 7, at around 12:30pm inside of Erasmus High School at 911 Flatbush Avenue.

He is described as being 5’7″ tall, 134 pounds, with a thin build, dark complexion, black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, gray Nike sweatpants, and white sneakers.

Byrd lives in the Flatlands neighborhood at 2069 East 41 St.

An 85-year-old man was also reported missing this weekend.

Yuriy Vetchinkin was last seen on Friday, October 7, at around 4:40pm in front of 2669 East 28 St, according to police.

He is described as being approximately 5’8″ tall, weighing 140 pounds, with a thin build, and gray partially balding hair. There is no description of what he was wearing when he was last seen, according to police.

A candy store on Avenue S was robbed on Friday Night.

Jaff and Son Candy Store at 3601 Avenue S was robbed at around 8pm on Friday, October 7, the store confirmed.

Neither the police nor the store would disclose any information regarding the robbery, but a post on the Facebook page, “You’re probably From Marine Park,..”, said the burglar had a knife during the robbery.

On the same post, a rumor was generated saying the store was robbed by a person dressed as a clown. The rumor was debunked on the page, and someone commented saying the burglar was wearing a ski-mask.

Anyone with information in regards to these missing people, or crimes is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.