Two uniformed city workers were arrested this week in two separate incidents for choking their domestic partners according to the office of District Attorney Richard Brown.
The New York City firefighter and sanitation worker have been identified as Steven Clarke, 39, of Far Rockaway and Napoleon Robinson, 52, of South Ozone Park.
Clarke was arraigned before Queens Criminal Court Judge Ernest F. Hart on a criminal complaint charging him with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and second degree harassment. Clarke, who faces up to one year in jail if convicted, was ordered released on his own recognizance and to return to court on September 6, 2013.
Robinson is was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on a criminal complaint charging him with second- degree strangulation, a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
According to the criminal charges, Robinson placed his hands around the neck of his female domestic partner and squeezed, impeding her breathing and causing her substantial pain. The incident allegedly occurred in front of their residence at approximately 12:05 a.m. on August 13, 2013.
The criminal complaint against Clarke says that Clarke pushed his wife to the floor inside their residence just after midnight on August 12, 2013, and placed his hands around her neck and squeezed, making it difficult for her to breathe and causing scratching and redness to her neck.
“The offenses that the two defendants are charged with committing
are crimes of violence against their loved ones. Domestic violence is a very serious problem and cannot be ignored,” said Brown, “which is why my Domestic Violence Bureau maintains the highest domestic violence conviction rate and the lowest dismissal rate in the City and which takes more pre-indictment pleas than the rest of the City combined.”
