By Nathan Duke
A New Jersey man will be extradited to the city to face charges after he allegedly harassed his ex-girlfriend shortly before a detective from Astoria's 114th Precinct came to her rescue last week as two razor-wielding men attacked her in Chinatown, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney said.
The NYPD is investigating whether the defendant played any role in the attack, a police spokeswoman said.
Police said they had been searching for Aleksander Vacaj, 32, an Albanian native who lives in East Lodi, N.J., last week after he had allegedly made a series of harassing phone calls to Artenida Gjeli, 26, his ex-girlfriend, and threatened to harm her. The 114th Precinct had opened a case against him in May, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Vacaj waved his rights following his arrest in New Jersey and was expected to be extradited this week to New York, where he would face stalking and aggravated harassment charges in Manhattan Criminal Court, a spokeswoman for Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said. But the defendant has not yet been extradited, she said.
If convicted, he could face up to one year in jail, she said.
Gjeli was attacked around 10:30 p.m. on May 28 by two men with razor blades at the Chinatown apartment building where she worked as a desk clerk, Kelly said. Martin Carrano, a 114th Precinct detective and 20-year NYPD veteran, fatally shot one of the attackers and wounded another, Kelly said.
The attackers had told the victim that they wanted to rent a room for the night and, when told the building was not a hotel, slashed Gjeli across the face, hand and upper right thigh, Kelly said. The men also slashed Carrano on the back of the head, he said.
Gjeli was treated at Bellevue Hospital, while Carrano received staples to the back of his head, Kelly said. One of the attackers was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, Kelly said.
The detective had met the victim after she filed her suit against her ex-boyfriend with the Astoria precinct, the police commissioner said. He had been speaking with her at the time of the attack about the threatening calls she had allegedly received from Vacaj, Kelly said.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
