WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2005

D.A. BROWN: FORMER QUEENS RESIDENT ARRAIGNED ON MURDER CHARGES IN SHOOTING DEATH OF OFF-DUTY CITY CORRECTION OFFICER
Arrested in Johnson City, Tennessee; Faces Up to 25 Years to Life in Prison

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a former Queens resident arrested last week in Tennessee during a routine car stop has been arraigned on murder charges in the 2004 shooting death of a New York City correction officer during a party held at a crowded social hall in South Jamaica, Queens.

District Attorney Brown said, “The victim was an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of an argument between the defendant and others. For his family, it must have been very difficult for them to know that a killer was still on the loose. While the filing of these charges is only the first step in holding accountable the person believed responsible for his murder, closure will not come until they know that a conviction has been had for this heinous crime.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Howard Evans, 22, formerly of 108-20 160th Street in Jamaica, Queens. Appearing at arraignment earlier today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Hanophy, the defendant was charged in a 13-count indictment with two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, five counts of Assault in the First Degree, two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree and one count of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree. Justice Hanophy ordered the defendant held without bail and set a return date of January 24, 2006.

The District Attorney stated that the defendant was arrested on November 18, 2005 in Johnson City, Tennessee, when police pulled over the car in which he was riding for a traffic infraction and discovered that a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

District Attorney Brown said that the indictment charges that in the early morning hours of February 7, 2004, at the Lebanon Lodge No. 54, a Masonic Temple located at 107-51 Guy Brewer Boulevard in South Jamaica, Queens, the defendant with a depraved indifference to human life recklessly engaged in a gun battle in the crowded hall by shooting in the direction of Derrick Coleman. Provoked, it is alleged, that Derrick Coleman returned fire and, at one point, his brother, Todd Coleman, grabbed the firearm and also returned fire. The gun battle resulted in the shooting death of off-duty Correction Officer Gregory Goff and the wounding of two others.

Derrick and Todd Coleman were arrested, respectively, in February and June 2004. Each pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and are awaiting sentencing.

Assistant District Attorney Jasmine Chang of the District Attorney’s Homicide Investigations Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Peter T. Reese, Bureau Chief, and Peter J. McCormack III, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Richard B. Schaeffer, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.

It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.