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Front Page July 2, 2009  RSS feed

MAN SHOT BY COPS AT DAY CARE DRUG HAVEN

By Charles Rogers

You never know what might lurk behind the door at the Special Moments Day Care Center. Charles Rogers      You never know what might lurk behind the door at the Special Moments Day Care Center. Charles Rogers Officials of the office of District Attorney Charles Hynes said that the two owners of the day care center in East Flatbush where a burglary suspect was shot Friday were arraigned Sunday on marijuana possession charges.

Donna Rogers, 37, and her husband Sherwin, 36, who own the Special Moments Day Care Center on East 52nd Street near Ditmas Avenue, were the victims of a robbery-break-in Friday, according to the D.A.'s spokesman Sandy Bernstein, when Gavin Nugent, 34, and Dwayne Jackson, 35, invaded the center shortly after noon. Mrs. Rogers was knocked to the floor by the alleged home invaders and subsequently pushed into the basement of the center — where children were taking their afternoon nap. The suspects then demanded the payroll, police said.

Meanwhile, a worker was able to call for help and police from the 67th Precinct arrived, just in time to see one of the suspects, standing in the midst of a group of sleeping children, allegedly point his gun at the officers. The two cops shot Nugent, but he managed to escape. A trail of blood traced him, however, to a basement window he tried to sneak through, but he was too big to fit through it. When one of the officers spied him, he turned and pointed his gun at the officer, who shot him, striking him in the hand and forcing him to drop his gun.

Nugent and Jackson were arrested, as was another man who was an alleged lookout. Meanwhile, a sergeant had ushered the children at the center out a door to safety.

As police investigated the shooting incident, they checked the center thoroughly and found a ten pound package of alleged marijuana and a large sum of cash in one of the closets.

Police commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters the day care center was "a repository for drugs and money," noting that upwards of $100,000 in cash was discovered.

In the shooting incident, Nugent was charged with burglary, attempted murder, attempted robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing of an officer and endangering the welfare of a child (22 counts). Dwayne and the lookout were charged with burglary, attempted robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, attempted assault and child endangerment.


Readers Comments

Submitted by rayharp@live.com on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 19:30.
Were "Donna Rogers, 37,and her husband Sherwin, 36, who own the Special Moments Day Care Center", ALSO arrested and charged with (at the very least) child endangerment? If not, WHY NOT? They should have been.
This is not only a news story, it is a WAKE-UP call. The parents of those children should immediately start taking their kids somewhere else. The authorities must immediately revoke that day-care center's license and SHUT IT DOWN! There is no such thing as "innocent until proven guilty" when our children's safety is involved. This story needs follow-up!