POLICE BLOTTER

SOLDIER ON FURLOUGH FATALLY SHOT AT BROOKLYN CLUB

A soldier on furlough who had been serving in Iraq was gunned down and killed at a Brooklyn club yesterday in a dispute over a woman, according to police, who are seeking the killer. Terrance Balkisoon, 25, who had returned to America from Iraq two weeks ago, was shot twice in the back and killed at the Ambiance Club at Canarsie yesterday, police said. Balkisoon was stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga., and was scheduled to return to the Army in one week, though it was unclear if he was returning to Iraq, police said. The gunman shot Balkisoon at 5:23 a.m. inside the vestibule of the club at 94-13 Ave. L, and he also shot an unnamed 25-year-old victim six times, police said. Balkisoon was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 20 minutes after the shooting. The 25-year-old victim survived and was in stable condition at Kings County Hospital, police said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

HOMELESS MAN STABS WOMAN OVER BEER, POLICE SAY

A homeless man alleged to have stabbed a homeless woman to death after she began drinking his beer was arrested for murder after he went to visit her in the hospital yesterday evening, police said. About 24 hours after police found the body of the woman slumped on a bed of trash bags in a Bronx side alley with numerous stab wounds to her chest, the man, Carlos Santana, 45, was arrested on murder charges shortly after he arrived at Bronx Lebanon Hospital.

At about 7 p.m. yesterday, Mr. Santana had come to the hospital to check on the woman, whom police described as being Hispanic and in her 30s, only to discover that she had died. In the hospital emergency room, police said one witness identified Mr. Santana as being a friend of the woman. After an initial interview with detectives, Mr. Santana confessed to stabbing her with a knife, police said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

POLICE ARREST SUSPECT IN DUNKIN’ DONUTS ROBBERIES

Police staked out a Dunkin’ Donuts at Queens after it had been robbed three times in two weeks and arrested the suspect when he dropped by for his fourth robbery.

Gregory Golden, 49, a convict who has 12 prior robbery arrests, was arrested at 9:45 a.m. yesterday at the Dunkin’ Donuts at 109-62 Francis Lewis Blvd., police said.

Police who staked out the doughnut shop in a van on the street radioed plainclothes police officers hidden inside when they saw a man matching the description of the robber walking into the store.

The plainclothes officers arrested Golden as he followed a 19-year-old female employee into a back room. Golden, who brandished a television remote control as a weapon, had followed employees into back rooms during the previous robberies, police said. Golden allegedly stole between $100 and $200 during each robbery.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MANHATTAN

SCHUMER, SPITZER EXPECTED AT JACKSON-ORGANIZED CONFERENCE

Senator Schumer and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer are among the scheduled participants in the Reverend Jesse Jackson’s Wall Street Project conference, a three-day event that starts tomorrow at the New York Hilton Hotel.

Mr. Jackson, who founded the Wall Street Project in 1998, has raised millions of dollars through its annual conference, which brings together corporate leaders, politicians, and job seekers under the mantle of increasing minority participation in the financial industry.

Mr. Spitzer, who recently entered the 2006 gubernatorial race, is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech to open the conference.

Mr. Schumer is labeled a co-chairman of the event, titled “Beyond Diversity, Equity and Parity: A New Covenant.”

Mr. Jackson is charging $250 for a day pass to the conference and $500 for admission to a related fund-raising event Thursday at the Time Warner Center.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

BRONX

STUDENTS, OFFICERS TO RAISE MONEY FOR TSUNAMI VICTIMS

Students and police officers from the Bronx have joined forces to launch a fund-raising drive to support victims of last month’s tsunami, according to the New York chapter of the Christian relief organization World Vision.

“The students wanted to do whatever they could to get involved,” a World Vision spokeswoman, Katie Roland, said. “This is a way they can feel that they’re participating to help around the world. The fund-raising effort was conceived by 9-year-old Julian Jimenez, a student at Our World Neighborhood Charter School, Ms. Roland said. With his father, Julian had pitched the idea of the coin collection drive to community affairs officers.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

CITYWIDE

DRIVERS OF PRIVATE BUSES MAY STRIKE

Drivers of two private bus lines serving thousands of commuters in Queens and Brooklyn planned to strike at midnight last night after working without a contract for two years.

Mayor Bloomberg has authorized commuter van drivers to pick up passengers at certain bus stops along the private bus lines’ regular routes in case of a strike. Command Bus Company, which serves about 7,500 passengers in southeastern Brooklyn, and Green Bus Lines, which serves an average of 60,000 passengers daily in central and southern Queens, are two of seven private bus lines the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is buying out.

Negotiations between the city and workers concerned about job security have stalled as both sides have accused each other of being disinterested in a quick resolution. Drivers left riders stranded for a few days last month when Command workers staged a sickout and a Green Bus Lines slowdown disrupted service in Queens.

– Special to the Sun

BODY OF TSUNAMI VICTIM BROUGHT HOME

The body of the first tsunami victim identified from New York, 25-year-old Hannah Shi, was brought home this weekend.

A Hong Kong based analyst with Morgan Stanley, Shi was vacationing on the island of Phi Phi off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, when the giant wave carried her away.

Shi, a graduate of Forest Hills High School and New York University Stern School of Business, was born in Shanghai, China. When she was 9 years old, her parents, both journalists, moved with her to the Rego Park section of Queens in search of better opportunities for their daughter.

Friends described her as an extremely charitable, talented, and vibrant young woman.

When her parents discovered she was missing, they flew to Thailand and spent seven days searching morgues and hospitals.

On January 7, they confirmed that a photograph that showed an ear was their daughter’s. She had always worn the same diamond earrings. They identified her using dental records.

Her younger sister, 14-year-old Annie Shi, said, “She was very determined but we were always first on her mind. She cared about us so much that it’s just unfair this is happening.”

The memorial service is scheduled for Saturday at St. Barts at 51st Street and Park Avenue. The funeral home is Frank E. Campbell at 1076 Madison Ave. and 81st Street.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun