What's all this noise about inflation? In NYC, we have DEFLATION! Of criminal charges, anyway
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In the latest case, career criminal William Rolon, 43, is accused of filling a plastic trash bag with cold medicine and other items inside a Duane Reade store on the Lower East Side around 12:20 a.m. Saturday.
When Rolon left the store at 100 Delancey St. without paying, a female manager confronted him and saw he was brandishing a pocket knife, according to court papers.
“F–k you, I’m taking everything,” he allegedly said.
Rolon and an unidentified accomplice then headed west with the loot, which was worth $2,209, law enforcement sources familiar with the matter said.
Rolon returned to the store around 5:30 p.m. the same day and allegedly stole more cold medicine, some paper towels and other items, according to court papers.
Another manager recognized Rolon from the earlier incident — which was caught on surveillance video — and called the cops, leading to his arrest, sources said.
While in custody at the nearby 7th Precinct headquarters, a small package of heroin allegedly fell out of Rolon’s sock, according to court papers.
Cops charged Rolon with first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a weapon in the first incident, sources said.
But when he was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court early Sunday morning, the robbery charge was dropped by the Manhattan DA’s Office and he was instead charged with two counts of petit larceny and related low-level offenses, including second-degree menacing, court papers show.
The move by prosecutors was in keeping with the orders outlined by Bragg in a “Day One” memo he issued on Jan. 3, his first full day in office.
Under Bragg’s directives, certain robberies of businesses are to be prosecuted as petit larcenies provided that no victim was wounded and there’s no “genuine risk of physical harm.”
The manager who Rolon allegedly threatened told cops she feared for her life and didn’t want to return to work, sources familiar with the matter said, and the criminal complaint notes that Rolon’s alleged conduct “placed her in fear of physical injury, serious physical injury or death.”
“He just ignored the victim,” Manhattan defense lawyer Michael Discioarro said of Bragg.
“He’s telling the victim: You don’t deserve protection from the state.”
Discioarro, a former Bronx prosecutor, added: “If this is how we’re going to prosecute crime — by ignoring crime — we’re in trouble.”
An ex-con accused of threatening a drug store worker with a knife was told in court that he should “feel lucky” he got busted after new Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took office, The Post has learned.
Career criminal William Rolon, 43, got the stunning advice when he was arraigned for misdemeanor petit larceny in what Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Jay Weiner called “a case that two weeks ago would have been charged as a robbery,” according to an official transcript of the proceeding.
“Based on your record, you would have faced a long period of time in jail if convicted,” Weiner said during the court proceeding early Sunday.
“The newly elected district attorney has new policies. You’re not charged with robbery; you’re charged with a misdemeanor here.”
Weiner added: “I don’t know if anyone would ever feel lucky standing in front of me in a courtroom, but you might reasonably feel lucky today.”
UPDATE II: Mr. Rolan had a previously-scheduled date in a Brooklyn court date Tuesday to answer to a previous assault. He failed to appear.
