A 34-year-old NYPD ID officer was fatally stabbed in his Staten Island home; roommate charged

STATEN ISLAND, NY — Police have identified Damian Kleba as the 34-year-old man who was brutally murdered in his New Springville home early Sunday morning.

A few hours later, police arrested 34-year-old Daniel Perez, who lived at the same address as the victim in the 400 block of Travis Avenue.

Perez was arraigned in Criminal Court Monday by Judge John McPadden on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the murder.

Kleba was found stabbed in the body when the police intervened in their home at around 01.45 on Sunday. EMS pronounced Kleba dead at the scene, according to a previous statement from the NYPD.

An NYPD presence was seen in front of the residence on Sunday, and the front of the house was blocked off with caution tape, with blood stains on the steps leading to the door.

At Monday’s hearing, Perez’s attorney argued for the possibility of self-defense while citing an apparent mental health condition.

Prosecutors with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office on Monday requested that Perez be held without bail based on the nature of the charges.

Defense attorney Rebecca Rosenfeld, a public defender at the Legal Aid Society, acknowledged the “extreme seriousness” of the maximum count but said there were mitigating circumstances from a legal perspective that could allow her client to be released unconditionally. -monetary bail.

According to the defense, Perez was a beneficiary of a supportive housing program that serves adults with partial mental illness. “He has a serious mental health diagnosis,” Rosenfeld said. “Giving him bail would pose a hardship for his family.”

Perez has no known ties outside the state, city or county to be considered a potential flight risk, Rosenfeld said. And he had a single misdemeanor conviction from 10 years ago, he said.

Rosenfeld said the defendant fully cooperated with police during his arrest and questioning by investigators.

According to Rosenfeld, there was no surveillance video or third-party eyewitnesses who saw what happened, which leaves the door open for an argument of self-defense.

Rosenfeld suggested his client could be subject to electronic monitoring or strict supervision conditions instead of bail.

Rejecting prosecutors’ counterarguments, McPadden said he reviewed the details of the case and determined that the defendant should be held without bail.

He ordered Perez to receive physical and mental health treatment and evaluation at Rikers Island before adjourning the hearing until Friday.

Perez’s mother cried in the gallery throughout the hearing. He managed to say “I love you” as he was led out of the courtroom by police officers.

If indicted by a grand jury for felonies, the defense will defend St. George will have the opportunity again to seek bail in County Superior Court.