District attorneys across New York City are trying to tighten the screws on shoplifters by training retailers on methods to ban repeat offenders — and threaten serious prison sentences if they attempt to shoplift again.
The heinous crimes of Jose Espinoza, the Flatiron District building convicted of the rape and labor trafficking of a migrant cleaning woman this past January have earned the 63-year-old monster 22 years in prison.
While serving as the Chief of Hate Crimes unit in the Manhattan DA’s office, Hannah Yu was given a hate crime case in which the victim was struck with an object. The perpetrator had shouted, “Go back to your country!” Soon after, her office received another case.
Anthony Lopez, better known as YM Bape, was sentenced to 28 years to life for his role in a murder-for-hire conspiracy in New York City criminal court on Thursday. The sentencing came after a jury convicted Lopez, 34, of murder, conspiracy, criminal solicitation, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon on Dec. 13, 2024.
Over a dozen women’s and victims’ rights groups are calling on state lawmakers in a new letter to approve changes to New York’s discovery laws proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul as part of her executive budget. The fight over the tweaks are sure to dominate this year’s budget negotiations, as both legislative chambers removed them from their rebuttals to Hochul and criminal justice advocates are waging a campaign against them.
