IN THE COURTS

Graffiti Vandal Kiko Sentenced to Jail

A graffiti vandal was sentenced to jail yesterday for marking city property with his spray-painted nickname. Oliver Siandre, 28, who went by the street tag Kiko, was sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Barry Kronto to six months in jail and five years of probation, and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the city and owners of the properties he damaged, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown’s office announced. Mr. Siandre admitted that he spray-painted his tag and his crew’s name, Crazy 8, or C8, on properties in Long Island City and Astoria, including an overpass, a truck, a school wall, and a garage door.

— Associated Press

Ex-Convict Pleads Guilty To Kidnapping, Sex Crime

An ex-convict who was accused of snatching a medical student off a street and sexually torturing her in a car for hours pleaded guilty yesterday to kidnapping and committing a criminal sex act. Richard Padilla, 41, of Huntington Station, pleaded guilty in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court to the charges in exchange for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a minimum of 15 years. When Mr. Padilla was arraigned in February, Assistant District Attorney Kerry O’Connell told the court Mr. Padilla forced his way into the 24-year-old woman’s car in the East Village then ordered the victim to lie on the car floor while he drove to a Bronx parking lot, where he sexually abused her.

— Associated Press

STATEWIDE

Bloomberg Aims To Lift Charter Schools Cap

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that his top priority for the lame duck legislative session in Albany next week will be to lift the statewide charter school cap. The goal is to get the cap bumped to 250 charter schools from the current cap of 100. “I think history has shown that charter schools really do make a difference. They give parents alternatives, they let us try new things, they let us bring in private funding,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

CITYWIDE

Hospital Closure Will Put Hell’s Kitchen at Risk, Protesters Say

Protesters yesterday said shuttering St. Vincent’s Midtown Hospital on 51st Street would endanger Times Square tourists and leave Hell’s Kitchen without desperately needed health services. Hundreds of nurses, doctors, and hospital employees rallied midday outside the hospital where speakers urged the crowd to pray and write to politicians to demand the hospital stay open. “The squeaky wheel does get the oil, guys,” hospital chief Len Walsh said, “and we’ve got to be squeakier!” St. Vincent is among several hospitals recommended for closure by a state panel earlier this month.

— Special to the Sun

Boy, 6, Is Struck, Killed by Truck Loaded With Coffins

A 6-year-old boy on his way home from school was struck and killed yesterday by a truck loaded with coffins in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, police officials said. Andry Vega was walking a few steps ahead of his mother at about 3:10 p.m. after she picked him up from school. He had a green walk signal at the intersection of 46th Street and Third Avenue, according to witnesses, but the truck barreled through. Vega was brought to Lutheran Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver hadn’t been charged with a crime as of yesterday evening.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

CRIME BLOTTER

Popular DJ Shot In Washington Heights

A popular DJ from the Power 105 radio station was in critical condition after being shot early yesterday in Washington Heights. DJ Carl Blaze, whose real name is Carlos Rivera, was shot several times around 4:30 a.m. on Academy Street. He was dropping off several of his friends when the shooting occurred, police said. Mr. Rivera was taken to Harlem Hospital where he was listed in critical condition last night. Last night, police said no arrests had been made and the investigation was ongoing.

— Special to the Sun