NEW YORK — A 34-year-old Bronx man has been arrested on a series of charges after two children, a 14-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, were found badly bruised in his apartment earlier this week. authorities say.
The circumstances of the case, which took place in a house on Burke Avenue in Lavonia, are still under investigation. Neighbors and prosecutors describe it as very disturbing.
Police say NYPD officers responding to a 911 call about some sort of argument inside Michael Ramos’ apartment around 7:30 a.m. Monday discovered the two children in poor condition. They also found a defaced gun.
Ramos is charged with acting injuriously to a child, causing serious injury with a weapon, reckless behavior, criminal possession of a weapon and assault. The lawyer’s information for him was not immediately clear Thursday.
The condition of the children was also not immediately clear on Thursday. A woman who lives just above Ramos’ apartment says both boys have autism. She says the 13-year-old went to school with her son.
The woman said she had never heard anything bad coming from Ramos’ flat until a few days ago when she noticed a commotion early in the morning.
Other neighbors say they hadn’t seen the kids on the playground or even around the building in months, so they thought they didn’t live there anymore. His adoptive mother died over a year ago. A neighbor said foster care workers did routine checks when the adoptive mother was alive. It is not known what happened in this regard after his death.
A woman who knew the adoptive mother said Ramos was visibly frustrated when people recently asked him about the children. This woman said Ramos told people the children had moved to Puerto Rico with other relatives.
The apartment where the children lived showed signs of forced entry, possibly due to police activity. A new lock had also been installed on the door on Thursday.
The investigation is ongoing.