A couple of weeks ago a violent brawl outside a Bronx apartment building turned deadly. Prosecutors say a 24‑year‑old man named Randy Blanche was shot to death with a pistol during the scuffle. The alleged gunman, Marcos Rodriguez—who remains at large—supposedly fired when his wife, Denise Aponte, 59, pleaded with him over the phone to step outside the fight, demanding, “You need to come downstairs – get down here.” Once Rodriguez appeared, he allegedly opened fire, striking Blanche in the head.
Blanche was taken to Bronx Care Hospital but died from his injuries. Aponte, who lives only a block away, was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, and possession of a weapon. She was arraigned next Tuesday and ordered to be held without bail.
Aponte’s daughter, who chose to remain anonymous, told the Post via her apartment intercom that her mother was unaware of any involvement and that the charges were wrong. “All the information you have is incorrect,” the younger woman said. “They charged the wrong person. I don’t know much, but I know they charged the wrong person. My mom was never on that scene for them to charge her with that crime. My mom’s a good person, a hard‑working woman. My mom doesn’t get in trouble. She does community work, all that.”
The arrest shocked a nearby neighbor who only identified himself as Steve. “The other night was crazy. There were a lot of cops here,” he told the Post. “She’s a regular person, just hi and bye. You don’t see her doing anything bad. It’s shocking that she’s been charged with this.”
Neighbors report that police smashed the vestibule door with a glass door at the building. When approached by reporters, Blanche’s mother, Shonta Johnson, could only say that her slain son “was my world.”
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