A murder suspect who escaped from the prison psychiatric ward at Bellevue Sunday night (Christmas) was recaptured by Yonkers police after he reportedly stole a car and outran two police cars in a chase through the Bronx.
In October, the suspect, 25-yer-old Anthony Ricco, escaped from Rikers Island and held 50 police officers at bay while holding a gun to his wife’s head. In exchange for releasing his wife the police promised to take him to Bellevue instead of Rikers.
On Sunday, Ricco used a hacksaw blade to cut through bars on a second-floor window before lowering himself to the street with knotted bedding.
A friend who was with him when he was recaptured, 18-year-old Sondra Tyrel is being held on conspiracy charges. Police believe she had smuggled the blade in to Ricco.
A fellow inmate who proceeded Ricco down the rope fell into a pit in front of a basement window, breaking one foot and both ankles. He was recaptured immediately.
Ricco’s first stop after the escape was the Kips Bay Garage, diagonally across from Bellevue, where he stole a 71 Buick.
Police tried to arrest him after receiving a tip as to his whereabouts (1152 White Plains Rd near Virginia Ave in the Parkchester section of The Bronx). They waited for him in an unmarked car until he walked up to the stolen car at about 12:30 am. But, they said, he fired one shot at them, backed the car up into a lamppost and then roared away.
Miss Tyrel was found on the floor of the car with a bullet wound in her right hand.
Excerpt from The New York Times 12/27/77
Tuesday, December 27, 1977
Saturday, December 24, 1977
Fugitive Arrested in Slaying of Policeman in Harlem
A man who escaped from Green Haven prison was arrested early yesterday morning for the murder of an off-duty police officer and another man in a Harlem tenement on Wednesday night.
Ronald Haynes, 33, was arressted at 8 AM in his apartment on 111th Street. Police found the slain officer’s .38 in the apartment.
According to police, robbery was the motive for the crimein which Officer William Flood, a 37-year-old policeman who trained other officers for the Queens Area Task Force was fatally shot along with another man, Perry Young also 37.
Police are still investigating the case to find out why the police officer was in the building and what connection he had with Mr. Young a transvestite who was wearing women’s underclothes at the the time he was found. A woman’s wig was found nearby.
Officer Flood lived in Ronkonkoma LI with his wife and two children – he went to the building at 11:30pm after driving from a class at John Jay College.
Mr. Haynes followed Flood and Young, who appeared to be a woman into the building with the intention of robbing them. The suspect shot the officer in the head before he was able to fire a shot. Haynes, with a record of more than 20 arrests, had been a fugitive since 1976 (!).
Flood would not be given an Inspector’s funeral – normally given to officers killed on duty – because he was off duty. He was the seventh cop killed this year.
NYT 12/24/77
Ronald Haynes, 33, was arressted at 8 AM in his apartment on 111th Street. Police found the slain officer’s .38 in the apartment.
According to police, robbery was the motive for the crimein which Officer William Flood, a 37-year-old policeman who trained other officers for the Queens Area Task Force was fatally shot along with another man, Perry Young also 37.
Police are still investigating the case to find out why the police officer was in the building and what connection he had with Mr. Young a transvestite who was wearing women’s underclothes at the the time he was found. A woman’s wig was found nearby.
Officer Flood lived in Ronkonkoma LI with his wife and two children – he went to the building at 11:30pm after driving from a class at John Jay College.
Mr. Haynes followed Flood and Young, who appeared to be a woman into the building with the intention of robbing them. The suspect shot the officer in the head before he was able to fire a shot. Haynes, with a record of more than 20 arrests, had been a fugitive since 1976 (!).
Flood would not be given an Inspector’s funeral – normally given to officers killed on duty – because he was off duty. He was the seventh cop killed this year.
NYT 12/24/77
False Santas Ho-Ho Public for Funds
Officials warn that anyone can dress up like a Santa Claus or a nun and solicit money on the street. The only beneficiary of the donations is the imposter.
excerpt from NYT 12/24/77
excerpt from NYT 12/24/77
A Grocer and His Dream Killed by Robbers in Brooklyn
Two men entered the small store. One pointed a gun at Mr. Rosado and shot twice, killing him. When the police found his body, the wallet in his pocket was empty.
The robbery that resulted in the death of Louis Rosado was the most revent of many holdups that have closed small businesses throughout the city, sometimes leaving blocks of abandoned stores.
Besides Mr. Rosado’s grocery, several stores on the block are empty. There is no longer any store on the block at which nearby residents can buy food.
Twice before he was held up. Once they put the gun against his head and pulled the trigger but the gun did not fire.
excerpt from NYT 12/24/77
The robbery that resulted in the death of Louis Rosado was the most revent of many holdups that have closed small businesses throughout the city, sometimes leaving blocks of abandoned stores.
Besides Mr. Rosado’s grocery, several stores on the block are empty. There is no longer any store on the block at which nearby residents can buy food.
Twice before he was held up. Once they put the gun against his head and pulled the trigger but the gun did not fire.
excerpt from NYT 12/24/77
Liquor Ban is Sought For Licenseless Club
The New York State Liquor Authority moved yesterday to stop Plato’s Retreat from serving liquor because, it said, the club catered to ‘swingers’ and encouraged secual relations on its premises among its patrons.
Carlo DiResta, an SLA investigator said he visited the club in the Hotel Ansonia with Ann Cronin on Dec. 2 and observed a variety of sexual activity.
The couple received a membership card after paying the entrance fee of $30. He said that three barmaids had served customers from a well-stocked bar, although the club does not have a license to dispense liquor, wine or beer.
There was no charge for the drinks since the club’s policy is to include them in the entrance fee. The club is registered as a not-for-profit organization.
excerpt from NYT 12/24/77
Carlo DiResta, an SLA investigator said he visited the club in the Hotel Ansonia with Ann Cronin on Dec. 2 and observed a variety of sexual activity.
The couple received a membership card after paying the entrance fee of $30. He said that three barmaids had served customers from a well-stocked bar, although the club does not have a license to dispense liquor, wine or beer.
There was no charge for the drinks since the club’s policy is to include them in the entrance fee. The club is registered as a not-for-profit organization.
excerpt from NYT 12/24/77
Friday, December 23, 1977
Two Teen-Agers in Bronx Are Held In Attacks on Woman Neighbor, 72
Two teenage boys, one 13 year old, the other 14, were held in the Bronx yesterday in connection with a six-day siege of terror against a 72-year-old woman, a former concert pianist, who lived in the same apartment building.
The two looted the apartment, smashing keepsakes of a lifetime and choking the woman and eventually raping her. Her only income was from social security.
The building was staked out in response to her first complaints, on the assumption that the intruders came from elsewhere in the neighborhood. Meanwhile the youths continued their raids on the woman’s apartment undetected.
Yesterday they were apprehended by Gonazalo Vargas the superindendent. The 14-year-old has a record of nine arrests dating to when he was nine.
The youths first broke in on Dec. 21. They returned on the 23rd and on each day thereafter for four days. Each time the woman called the police. Detectives said she gave confusing accounts of what had happened when police first responded. They said she created further confusion when she repeated her calls on succeeding days.
excerpt from NYT 12/23/77
The two looted the apartment, smashing keepsakes of a lifetime and choking the woman and eventually raping her. Her only income was from social security.
The building was staked out in response to her first complaints, on the assumption that the intruders came from elsewhere in the neighborhood. Meanwhile the youths continued their raids on the woman’s apartment undetected.
Yesterday they were apprehended by Gonazalo Vargas the superindendent. The 14-year-old has a record of nine arrests dating to when he was nine.
The youths first broke in on Dec. 21. They returned on the 23rd and on each day thereafter for four days. Each time the woman called the police. Detectives said she gave confusing accounts of what had happened when police first responded. They said she created further confusion when she repeated her calls on succeeding days.
excerpt from NYT 12/23/77
Wednesday, December 21, 1977
Ex-Detective and Gunman Killed, 3 Officers Hurt in Street Shootout
A murder suspect apparently fearing that two police officers were waiting for him opened fire on a busy Brooklyn street yesterday, killing a retired detective and wounding three officers before shooting himself.
The two police officers had been investigating a minor traffic accident.
Pedestrians and motorists hastily sought cover as the shooting erupted at the corner of Bergen Street and Flatbush Avenue in the Park Slope section.
The police identified the slain gunman as William Ross Wakefield, 27 years old, who was being sought in the robbery last Thursday of the East New York Savings Bank during which the assistant manager was killed. He was also wanted in connection with 7 other bank robberies.
The accident that touched off the shooting spree involved a car driven by Raymond Gallo, a 50-year-old retired police detective.
A police car stopped to investigate and Mr. Gallo stood talking to Officer Lawrence Brom when Mr. Wakefield came up to them and opened fire with his .38. Mr. Gallo was hit in the chest and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Officer Brom is in critical but stable condition with chest wounds. Wakefield exchanged shots with Officer Fred Connors and the gunshots attracted other officers from the nearby precinct house and the battle raged back and forth across Flatbush.
Mr. Wakefield started running from the scene after he was wounded severely in the neck. He collapsed two blocks away in the doorway of a Spanish restaurant. Some police reports indicated that he had been wearing a stocking mask over his head when he opened fire.
Detective Vito Navarra said a warrant for Mr. Wakefield’s arrest had been signed just minutes before the shootings. They had been questioning family and friends.
“He knew we were looking for him and might have gotten a little jittery.”
“I looked out the window and saw this guy running and bleeding. He stopped at the corner. He was already doing zigzags. He crossed the street and went into a restaurant. Five or six detectives went in and took the guy out and threw him in a open wagon.”
He had at least three bullets in his body.
NYT Bird 12/21/77
The two police officers had been investigating a minor traffic accident.
Pedestrians and motorists hastily sought cover as the shooting erupted at the corner of Bergen Street and Flatbush Avenue in the Park Slope section.
The police identified the slain gunman as William Ross Wakefield, 27 years old, who was being sought in the robbery last Thursday of the East New York Savings Bank during which the assistant manager was killed. He was also wanted in connection with 7 other bank robberies.
The accident that touched off the shooting spree involved a car driven by Raymond Gallo, a 50-year-old retired police detective.
A police car stopped to investigate and Mr. Gallo stood talking to Officer Lawrence Brom when Mr. Wakefield came up to them and opened fire with his .38. Mr. Gallo was hit in the chest and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Officer Brom is in critical but stable condition with chest wounds. Wakefield exchanged shots with Officer Fred Connors and the gunshots attracted other officers from the nearby precinct house and the battle raged back and forth across Flatbush.
Mr. Wakefield started running from the scene after he was wounded severely in the neck. He collapsed two blocks away in the doorway of a Spanish restaurant. Some police reports indicated that he had been wearing a stocking mask over his head when he opened fire.
Detective Vito Navarra said a warrant for Mr. Wakefield’s arrest had been signed just minutes before the shootings. They had been questioning family and friends.
“He knew we were looking for him and might have gotten a little jittery.”
“I looked out the window and saw this guy running and bleeding. He stopped at the corner. He was already doing zigzags. He crossed the street and went into a restaurant. Five or six detectives went in and took the guy out and threw him in a open wagon.”
He had at least three bullets in his body.
NYT Bird 12/21/77
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