Prosecutors: Bronx woman encouraged husband to carry out deadly shooting in Morris Heights
According to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, 59-year-old Denise Aponte was involved in an argument Sunday night alongside her daughters when tensions escalated.
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A Bronx woman is now facing murder charges after prosecutors say she encouraged her husband to fatally shoot a 24-year-old man during a dispute outside the Sedgwick Houses over the weekend.
According to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, 59-year-old Denise Aponte was involved in an argument Sunday night alongside her daughters when tensions escalated. Prosecutors say Aponte called her husband, Marcos Rodriguez, telling him, “You need to come downstairs… come down here,” and allegedly instructing him to “bring that,” referring to a firearm.
Investigators say the victim, Randy Blanche, was trying to break up the fight when he was shot in the head three times.
Neighbors reported hearing yelling followed by a rapid burst of gunfire.
“We saw someone arguing and someone said, ‘Yo move, move,’” one neighbor told News 12. “Then all I heard was bullets shot.”
Police say Aponte and Rodriguez ran away. Officers later found Aponte at her apartment on Monday morning, where she was taken into custody.
She is now charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, with prosecutors pointing to both phone records and video evidence tying her to the crime.
Her attorney, Jason Gazewood, pushed back on the allegations outside court, arguing that the phone call referenced in the complaint did not mention a weapon.
“We’re talking about a phone call here — that’s it,” Gazewood said. “The phone call is in the complaint… it’s ‘Hey, come down.’ It doesn’t say anything.”
Aponte, who was previously sentenced to seven years in prison for a 1991 robbery, is now being presented to a grand jury. Officials have not yet said when an indictment could come.
Police are still searching for Rodriguez, who they believe was the gunman.
