hit-n-run outside school
By David Greene
BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 22- Two Bronx cab drivers are off the streets after two unrelated incidents on different sides of the borough, over this past weekend.
Police sources say that patrolmen from the 44th Precinct were answering a call of "suspicious activity," at 1356 Walton Avenue in the Mount Eden section, when they discovered a man attempting to dispose of the body of his girlfriend.
The NYPD reports the body of Yajaira Reyes, 29, was discovered shortly after the initial call was reported at 5:45 a.m., on July 21, after police officers questioned why livery driver Moises Martinez, 52, had parked his Lincoln Town Car on the sidewalk.
Martinez allegedly killed Reyes and stuffed her body into a garbage can and was attempting to load the can into his cab when police apprehended him.
Officially, the NYPD has offered no motive in the killing, however, one police source maintained that investigators believe jealousy was the reason for the killing.
The medical examiner was expected to conduct an autopsy on Monday that would determine Reyes' cause of death. Those results may not be available for several days.
Neighbors say the couple were raising four-children together, published reports have stated that the children were on vacation with relatives in Florida at the time of the slaying.
Martinez was immediately taken into custody and was charged with murder and manslaughter.
Reyes, an immigrant from Guatemala, had been a part-time NYPD traffic agent for the better part of the past year.
Martinez looked straight into the lenses of several photographers until one asked, "Why'd you do it?." The suspect then looked away as he was placed into an unmarked car and seconds later-- buried his face in his lap as he was transported to central booking for his arraignment.
Citing an unnamed police source, both Eyewitness News and 1010 WINS reported that Martinez had confessed to the gruesome crime at the scene.
An employee at the Diplo First Class Car Service on Jerome Avenue in Bedford Park, where Martinez worked, recalled, "He was a quiet guy, but got along with everybody." The company currently employees 300 workers.
At about the same time police discovered Reyes' body, another livery taxi driver was returning to the scene of a serious hit-and-run crash in Co-op City.
Police say the unidentified 19-year old victim was crossing Baychester Avenue opposite Harry S. Truman High School, at just after 3 a.m. on July 21, when he was struck by a livery taxi traveling southbound.
The victim, a resident of Co-Op City, was rushed to Jacobi Hospital where he underwent a 6-hour operation, where doctors were forced to amputate the man's leg at just below the knee. The victim was later reported to be in serious, but stable condition.
Police say that at just after 6 a.m., the driver returned to the scene-- after first having replaced his windshield.
Published reports say the driver, identified by officials as Derek Maida, 37, told co-workers he thought his white Ford sedan was hit by debris thrown from a pedestrian overpass.
Maida was quickly arrested and charged with second degree vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an accident, tampering with physical evidence, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and failing to yield to a pedestrian.
An official at One Police Plaza could not immediately say where Maida was from, but confirmed Maida was driving with a suspended license. The official also could not say how many times Maida's license had been suspended.
An employee answering the phone at the Co-op City Luxury Car Service in Pelham Bay, where Maida was employed, would only say, "I can't help you with that... no," before hanging up the phone.
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Moises Martinez, 52, was charged with killing NYPD traffic enforcement agent Yajaira Reyes.--Photo by David Greene
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