Crown Heights man
gets 40 years to life
for sexual assault
BY JULIANNE CUBA
A Crown Heights man is headed behind
bars — possibly for the rest of his days
— for sexually assaulting a woman and
threatening to kill her inside her Bushwick
home, according to Brooklyn’s
top prosecutor.
A judge on Dec. 13 sentenced Romaric
Guibre to 40 years to life in
prison for the violent home invasion
that District Attorney Eric Gonzalez
called particularly egregious and unnerving.
“This was an especially heinous attack
in which the defendant assaulted
and terrorized a woman for hours,”
Gonzalez said. “It’s important for people
to feel safe in the sanctity of their
own home.”
A jury last month convicted Guiebre
on charges including sexual assault,
burglary, and robbery after he broke
into the 29-year-old woman’s DeKalb
Avenue apartment using a spare key,
sexually assaulted her, and stole cash
on July 25, 2016.
The victim told the courtroom that
Good things come in small
packages — especially jewelry.
And it’s even better when it’s
selling for 50 percent off.
Incredibly, just in time for
the holidays, A.S. & Son’s Diamonds
is making that offer — do
your shopping here and receive
50 percent off, now through Dec.
31. Owner Mike Shimonov says
he wants to help people for the
holidays — and not only when it
comes to purchasing jewelry, as
the store offers much more than
that. It’s a pawn shop, so there
are many interesting and unique
items of interest for collectors.
The store will also buy unwanted
jewelry, putting cash into your
hands at a time of year when you
can really use it.
“Whether you are looking to
a buy a gift, get a loan, sell some
of old jewelry, or pretty much
sell anything with second-hand
value, we can help,” he says.
Looking for stocking stuffers?
They store has an assortment
of items such as vinyl records,
video games, and sports cards
that cost $1.
Shop for diamonds, watches,
musical instruments, silver and
she woke up in the middle of the night
to the sound of a key turning in her
front door, and saw Guiebre standing
in her apartment when she went to
check who was entering.
The victim screamed at the sight
of him, and he grabbed her neck and
shoved her into her bedroom, where
he whipped out a gun and threatened,
“I’m going to kill you,” the top prosecutor
said.
The woman, however, fought back,
biting Guiebre on his nose and drawing
blood. But Guiebre persisted, tying
up the victim, blindfolding her with a
bedsheet, and sexually assaulting her,
according to Gonzalez, who said he
made her take a shower afterwards.
Following the brutal assault, Guiebre
grabbed the victim’s debit card and
withdrew $400 from her bank account
and again threatened to kill her if she
reported the incident, before shoving
her bedding and his blood-soaked
items in a garbage bag and leaving,
Gonzalez said.
The woman then called her boyfriend,
gold coins, old paper currency,
antique guns, paintings, crystal,
glassware, tools, plates, and electronics
such as cameras, computers,
and phones. Come in and
browse as you may just find that
one-of-a-kind item for that special
someone.
Shimonov says their wide assortment
of beautifully designed
diamond hoop earrings must be
seen.
“We are wholesalers, so our
prices are extremely competitive,”
he says.
If there is a particular jewelry
design you would to see created,
PRISON BOUND: Romaric Guiebre is going
behind bars — possibly for life — for breaking
into a woman’s apartment and sexually assaulting
her in 2016. District Attorney’s Offi ce
who reported the attack to authorities,
offi cials said.
Cops cuffed Guiebre weeks later
on Aug. 23 after recovering his blood
on the victim’s bedroom and bathroom
fl oors, according to Gonzalez,
who said he worked as a house cleaner
and previously scrubbed the woman’s
apartment, when he likely picked up
the spare key he used to break in the
night of the assault.
they can turn your vision
into reality.
“We’re all about communication
and understanding here,”
says Shimonov. “We can make
anything you have in mind.”
Shop knowing that you are
dealing with a family-run business
that is a staple in the community.
“We like to help our neighbors
any chance we get,” he says.
They have proven it. This past
summer A.S. & Son’s Diamonds
held a barbecue for the neighborhood
that included chicken, burgers,
hot dogs, skirt steaks, and
COURIER L 10 IFE, DEC. 21–27, 2018 M B G
Trucker cuffed
for fatal crash
in Kensington
Cops arrested an out-of-state trucker
for hitting and killing a senior in
Kensington while driving a big rig
with a suspended license.
lives in Ohio, faces up to one year in
prison if convicted of the top count
of aggravated unlicensed operation
degree, one of the charges prosecutors
Court arraignment following the
deadly Dec. 12 crash, according to a
spokesman for the district attorney.
Kenworth tractor-trailer on Courtelyou
when he turned left onto McDonald
Avenue at 6:55 am, and struck the 71-
year-old Ocean Parkway resident as
he crossed the street, cops said.
found the victim lodged between
the second and third axle of the defendant’s
documents.
hospital, and paramedics pronounced
him dead on the spot, cops said.
giveaways. Last year they held a
similar event, attended by more
than 200 people. The goal is to
“pay it forward,” says Shimonov.
The community has been good to
them, and they want give back.
There was a time when the
family couldn’t imagine they
would be able to do this, as the
founder of the business — Alexander
Shimonov — came from
humble beginnings. Growing up
in Israel, he had to quit school at
a young age to help provide for
his parents and siblings. When
he moved to New York with his
wife in the 1980s, he had $3,000 to
his name, which was spent on an
immigration lawyer, says Shimonov.
To make ends meet, he
moved in with family members
who resided in Borough Park,
and found work as a diamond setter,
toiling 20-hours a day. It took
four years to save enough for
him to get his own apartment. It
would be another four years before
he would be able to branch
out and get a spot in Manhattan’s
Diamond District. In hindsight,
it was a great learning experience
that helped to shape him.
Now, 30 years later, Alexander
remains chief executive officer
BY COLIN MIXSON
The 54-year-old defendant, who
of a motor vehicle in the third
slapped him with at a Criminal
The motorist was driving a 2005
Road towards Borough Park
Police rushed to the scene and
truck, according to court
The victim never made it to the
of A.S. & Son’s Diamonds, the
business he established more
than a decade ago.
As the business is a pawnshop,
the Shimonovs hear a lot of
hard luck stories.
“People can barely pay their
rents so they come to us to pawn
items for some financial reprieve,”
says Shimonov.
He feels for the homeless in
the area who can’t afford food or
a roof over their heads.
“It’s really sad,” he says.
He would like to see locals get
involved in their communities to
send the message that no one in
this world is alone. It’s really the
message of the holiday season.
Parking can be difficult on
Coney Island Avenue, so A.S. &
Son’s Diamonds removes that obstacle
by offering valet parking to
its customers.
Stay current with what they
are up to each day by following
them on Instagram: @as_diamonds.
A.S. & Son’s Diamonds 2015
Coney Island Ave. between
Quentin Road and Avenue P in
Midwood, (718) 627–1514, www.
jewelryex.info. Open Sundays-
Fridays, 11 am – 6 pm.
BUS I N E S S , B ROOK LYN S T Y LE – A DV E RTI S E M E NT
Shop A.S. & Son’s Diamonds for perfect holiday jewelry
link
link
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/www.jewelryex.info
/www.jewelryex.info