A registered sex offender was arrested after he illegally entered a home and committed another sex offense involving two minors including a 9-year-old. We have the details of that case, other burglaries, drug offenses, DUIs and more in this week’s report.
A particularly disturbing case starts us off. Jay Rappaport is a sex offender registered in Broward County. He moved a few months ago to the Gables Town Place apartments near Town Center Mall, but did not re-register with the Palm Beach County Sheriff.
On Friday night last week he walked into another apartment through the patio screen door, a 12-year-old in the home saw him in a room with a 9-year-old autistic child who was watching television. Rappaport had his pants down, was masturbating, and exclaimed “I want to cum.” Someone told him to get out and he left.
Boca PD officers found him in his apartment with his sliding door open, pants and underwear down with his genitals out. One of the residents of the burglarized apartment positively identified him.
Rappaport now faces felony charges and so far has not been released from the county jail. It might be a while.
He had felony charges in November also in Boca for domestic battery, robbery and grand theft regarding his girlfriend, which makes one wonder how she chose this guy.
The reason he’s a sex offender is a conviction for aggravated sodomy from a Georgia incident in the 1990s where he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was released in 2011.
Deputies were called to Watergate Circle in the trailer park and found the Utters sleeping in a trailer belonging to someone else. The trailer was sold and closed the day before. They claim they had permission from the owner, but it was the previous owner who denied giving them permission. Both face burglary charges.
Richard has had several felony cases in the Palm Beach courts and Terry has had a few of her own. Drugs were involved in at least some of those.
Erik Elston (20) of SW 14th Street in East Boca was arrested for domestic battery and robbery by sudden snatching. He and his now ex-girlfriend were arguing. He physically restrained her from leaving, knocked her down, punched her, and grabbed some of her things including her phone.
Maybe we should have seen this one coming. Elston made the Sun-Sentinel as a sixth grader for violence on a school bus.
Viviana Collazo (24) of East Boca was arrested in Lake Worth for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Collazo got in a confrontation with an 18 year old woman who was with Collazo’s boyfriend. Collazo stabbed the victim in the chest with a knife from her keychain that she apparently concealed in her closed hand. The officer observed two deep lacerations above the victim’s left breast, but she declined to go to the hospital. We see no criminal history but a recent Facebook post of hers suggests this fits her attitude.
Kyle Flanagan (31) of Ridge Creek Road in Boca Landings faces multiple felonies after being violent towards his wife and threatening to her sister by a text message that he would “finish Hitler’s work.” Flanagan is not Jewish and the wife and sister are.
Sometimes we think people should make better choices in who they marry, perhaps avoiding men who have been sentenced to state prison for, say, 5 years on burglary and grand theft charges. Flanagan was released from state prison in 2016, a bit more than a year this lucky young woman married him.
Jonathan Kanfer (54) of Island Lakes was charged with felony domestic battery after an argument with his girlfriend over rent escalated. He pushed her, causing her to fall. She suffered a bump on her head and some a bloody scratch, but the subsequent hospital visit revealed a freshly fractured vertebra in her spine. We see no criminal history for Mr. Kanfer.
Matthew Charles Cross (45) was living in the Gables Palma Vista apartments between West Boca Medical Center and the Westwinds Publix when the FBI came looking for him. He had warrants on a variety of charges in Idaho and the FBI worked with PBSO to make the arrest. He was cooperative and the police found a .45 caliber Kimber handgun in his backpack. Based on a prior weapons-related felony conviction from Idaho in 2010, Cross was charged as a felon unlawfully possessing a firearm. They also found drug paraphernalia in the backpack.
FAU student Raeanna Rahim (18) was arrested for a minor marijuana possession charge which will probably be dismissed.
Michael Douglas Tyson (27, and yes, Mike Tyson, but not the boxer) was arrested for felony marijuana possession. He has had two previous marijuana cases in the county including a felony in 2016, along with several traffic tickets, some criminal. His reported address is in the Isle of Boca Dunes.
Jeyson Gomez (24) of the Alister apartments (Boca Entrada) was arrested for DUI and felony hit and run. Witnesses say Gomez was driving a red Mazda that crashed at a high rate of speed into a stopped VW Passat on 441 near Palmetto, and then he got out of the car and left the scene on foot. Deputies found him a few hundred feet from the scene where he was identified by witnesses. He admitted to drinking 6 beers and blew roughly 0.22 on the breath test, nearly 3 times the legal limit.
Court records show several prior traffic cases including a DUI in 2014 that was reduced to reckless driving. He had a bumpy ride through that probation.
Real estate agent Achirana Altuve-Quintero (45) of the San Marino apartments near Town Center was arrested for DUI after a concerned citizen called 911 from I-95 and followed her until the police arrived. She failed to notice the police lights and sirens for “35 blocks” on Military Trail before she finally stopped. She was otherwise cooperative and blew a 0.15 BAC. We see no other history for her.
Maurice Castellano (38) of the Marina Del Mar subdivision near SW 18th and Military Trail was arrested at the Suri West restaurant in Wellington for DUI. From the police affidavit it appears there was a minor collision in the parking lot. Castellano was not cooperative and refused a breath test. But the evidence of him being an involved driver is unclear, and the purported refusal seems weak (he asked for a lawyer). The video evidence might be more persuasive but we will probably never see that. We see no significant history for Mr. Castellano
Angela Ruggiero (37) of Paradise Palms (east side of Military near Town Center) was arrested for DUI as well. Boca PD indicates she drove into a ditch on Verde Trail near St. Andrews Blvd. and ultimately blew a 0.16 BAC. She had a couple cases back around 2003 including another DUI.
Matthew Cleveland (35) of the Sonata subdivision in Mission Bay was arrested for felony driving while suspended which indicates multiple previous offenses. We see one previous offense in this county in 2018. The police affidavit indicates a previous offense in 2005. This resulted from an accident at Palmetto Park Road and US-441.
Ethan Hidnert (19) was the backseat passenger in a car speeding on Clint Moore traveling east. Boca PD pulled over the car and the officer smelled marijuana. Ultimately Hidnert was charged with possession of hashish, marijuana and paraphernalia. His address is on Military Trail and he may be the son of a Miami traffic lawyer. We don’t see any other history for him.
Anthony Galimidi (21) was arrested in the Watergate/Sandalfoot trailer park for selling marijuana to one or two undercover deputies, on two different occasions. They set him up after they received a tip. Because the trailer is within 1000 feet of the Calvary Chapel church, he was charged with higher level felony offenses, along with other charges. Galimidi was also charged with a drug felony in 2018.
Jaden Cresser (19) was pulled over by Boca PD on Federal Highway. Raenna Rahim (above) and Aisha Baksh (not pictured) wer in the car as well. Cresser was charged with felony possession with intent to sell. The other two were charged with minor marijuana possession offenses. A fourth occupant was not charged. Cresser had a misdemeanor possession charge late last year as well.
FAU student John Amaya was arrested initially on domestic battery charges for pushing his girlfriend in a dorm room. During the arrest police found a fake ID and that got him a felony charge.
Elizabeth Bergemann (27) of northeast Boca was arrested for domestic battery after she allegedly punched her sister in the face in a dispute over either money or drugs. Court records show over 20 cases for her in the county including two drug felonies.
Rodolfo Castellon (32) of East Boca was arrested for domestic battery after his girlfriend said he came home drunk and punched her twice in the head, threatening to kill her and her two sons. Broward court records show 5 domestic violence cases involving Castellon.
Ronald Tyrone Davis (33) was arrested by Boca PD for domestic battery after allegedly scratching his girlfriend under the eye and grabbing her forcefully. We see no prior history for Mr. Davis.
William Fuchs is charged with a simple domestic battery. Fuchs is 28 years old and lives on Jeffery St. in East Boca.
Elizabeth Galicia-Rodriguez (32) is also charged with a domestic battery, apparently for grabbing her husband during an argument. They live in East Boca.
John Oswald (41) faces a felony battery charge for hitting a younger and smaller man outside an East Boca Publix. It’s a weird one because Oswald called the police himself and described the confrontation which led to his arrest. His description makes Oswald look nutty. The officer elevated it to a felony because Oswald has a prior conviction in New Jersey from 2005.
FAU student Tytiana Sykes (18) faces a dating domestic violence misdemeanor for scratching her boyfriend’s chest. We see no priors for her.
