Westchester District Attorney Secures Guilty Pleas in New Rochelle High School Armed Robbery Case

Written By: Robert Cox

McCleod SimpsonTwo former New Rochelle High School students have agreed to plead guilty to charges stemming from their arrest last February in an attempted armed robbery at the school.

Jermaine McCleod, 19, and Rashad Simpson,17, were arrested on February 10, 2011 by New Rochelle police at the New Rochelle High School on charges of Attempted Armed Robbery in the 2nd Degree and Attempted Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree.

The incident occurred on February 9th, just a day after McCleod had been caught stealing money from a cash register at the school cafeteria. McCleod and Simpson are well-known to police and prosecutors.

According to Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Simpson will be sentenced on January 10, 2012 for a guilty plea of Attempted Grand Larceny in the 4th degree. McCleod will be sentenced on February 9, 2012 for his plea to Attempted Robbery in the 3rd degree.

McCleod, formerly of 110 Horton Avenue, is currently incarcerated at Rikers Island on charges related to crimes in New York City. He will be brought back to White Plains for sentencing.

The pair are alleged to have confronted a student in the hallways at New Rochelle High School, indicated they had a weapon and demanded the students wallet. When the student refused and attempted to walk away, Simpson moved to block the way of the student, preventing him from leaving. The incident ended when a school district employee happened upon the scene.

Temporary orders of protection were issued in favor of the victim.

High resolution video tape evidence of the crime was destroyed by school officials, according to sources familiar with the case. These same sources tell Talk of the Sound that New Rochelle Security Director Bruce Daniele failed to properly identify the two suspects despite his familiarity with the pair. Daniele has also asserted that former Security Administrator Rolf Kohler intervened at the time of the incident on February 9, 2011 when a source who viewed the high resolution video identified the person as Werner Graefe, the school locksmith.

PREVIOUSLY ON TALK OF THE SOUND:

Two New Rochelle Students Arraigned on Charges of Attempted Armed Robbery, Attempted Grand Larceny at New Rochelle High School

Grand Jury Indicts Two Students for Attempted Armed Robbery at New Rochelle High School

Should New Rochelle School System Have Its Own CrimeStoppers Program?

2 thoughts on “Westchester District Attorney Secures Guilty Pleas in New Rochelle High School Armed Robbery Case”

  1. Another Isolated Incident
    Why did this story make the front page? We live in WonderLand and this is just another isolated incident in one of the safest cities in America.

    1. This story made the front page because…..

      This story made the front page because, in my opinion the student who went to numerous court appearances, and stood up to face the jerks that tried to rod him should be applauded by us all…especially the high school staff, if it were not for him, these kids would still be roaming the hallways!! Forget the fact that the staff lost the video which would have made the student have to not testify, and the lack of support from the school.

      This is not an isolated incident, just this year alone there have been many attacks on students, but you just dont hear about it!! You need to wake up and ask questions!! Thank You Bob!!!!

      Why dont you look into the story where a student was leaving school and was beat up for his cell phone, happened in late Sept, early Oct.

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