Archive for June 2020
DA KATZ: RETIRED POLICE OFFICER WHO ALLEGEDLY FIRED SHOT INSIDE HOWARD BEACH RESTAURANT CHARGED WITH ASSAULT IN THE FIRST DEGREE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a retired police officer has been charged with assault in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly firing a gun inside a sushi restaurant in Howard Beach Tuesday evening during a verbal dispute with another patron. A stray shot hit an innocent bystander in the eatery.…
Read MoreLONG ISLAND MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING OF 7-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM HER FLUSHING HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 32-year-old Brentwood man has been charged with attempted kidnapping and other crimes for allegedly dragging a 7-year-old girl from her bed and out the front door of her home in a brazen abduction attempt Monday morning. The girl was saved when her family members heard her…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION WITH DEFENSE TO VACATE CONVICTION OF INNOCENT MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the filing of a joint motion to vacate the murder conviction of Samuel Brownridge, who was incarcerated for more than 25 years for a crime that he did not commit. Mr. Brownridge was convicted based on 2 eyewitness identifications. The motion filed today details new evidence that both…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ANNOUNCES THE OFFICE’S VIOLENT CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES BUREAU
District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the creation of a Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. This Bureau merges the Office’s former Narcotics Investigations Bureau and Gang Violence bureaus. The Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau will work diligently to suppress violent crime in Queens County by identifying and prosecuting drivers of violence engaged in organized criminal behavior, including…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ HOSTS BRAVE JUSTICE: INAUGURAL SUMMER INTERNSHIP FOR STUDENTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the start of her inaugural summer internship program titled Brave Justice. The internship kicked off this week with the students being welcomed to the Office by the DA and Chief Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Naiburg, via video conference. District Attorney Katz said, “We are very excited to have…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ LAUNCHES HATE CRIMES BUREAU
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced a dedicated Hate Crimes Bureau in her newly reorganized Felony Trial Division. This Bureau is one of the first in the nation committed exclusively to preventing, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. District Attorney Katz said, “We are the ‘World’s Borough’ with the most diverse population of any county…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO UP TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR KILLING FEMALE ROOMMATE IN RIDGEWOOD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 30-year-old Queens resident has been sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter in February. The defendant repeatedly stabbed his female roommate in the apartment they shared in Ridgewood in September of 2016. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant in…
Read MoreStatement Regarding Chokeholds and Other Restraining Techniques
As we have seen recently with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and six years ago right here in New York City with the death of Eric Garner, the use of chokeholds and other holds or restraining techniques that can cut off the supply of oxygen to a person’s brain have an unacceptably high…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ INTRODUCES THE OFFICE’S MAJOR ECONOMIC CRIMES BUREAU
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the creation of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau in her newly reorganized Investigations Division. This Bureau combines the former Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau with components of the former Economics Crimes Bureau. This new crime fighting team will investigate and prosecute a broad array of large-scale financial crimes…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIMES FOR SHOOTING AT VICTIMS WHO WERE DRIVING IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a Queens man has been charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and other charges after he followed a vehicle that was driving in his neighborhood, then pulled out a gun and fired on the occupants of the car. District Attorney Katz said, “Public streets belong…
Read MoreWHITESTONE MAN SEEN ON VIRAL VIDEOS ATTACKING BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERS WHILE WEARING 4-BLADE KNIFE CLAW CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER IN QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the arrest of a 54-year-old Queens man who was allegedly observed on viral videos attacking peaceful demonstrators on Tuesday afternoon in Whitestone, Queens. The nonviolent gathering on the overpass above the Cross Island Parkway turned into a frenzied scene with the defendant hopping out of his vehicle and…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR SHOOTING AT POLICE OFFICERS IN FAR ROCKAWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 21-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly firing at cops who sat in a patrol car in Far Rockaway Sunday night. The officers heard the shots just before the marked vehicle was jolted by bullets that…
Read MoreSTATEMENT OF QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ IN SUPPORT OF REPEALING THE LOITERING LAW IN REGARDS TO PROSTITUTION
District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced her support for a bill that would repeal the crime of loitering for the purposes of prostitution from the New York State Penal Law. Since taking office on January 1st the District Attorney has not charged or convicted a single individual for the crime of loitering for the purposes…
Read MoreCOVID-19 and the Opioid Epidemic
As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 – more commonly referred to as COVID-19 – continues to sweep across our country and particularly in our home borough of Queens, we must keep in mind that another epidemic was already on the rise and is still one of the greatest public health threats facing this generation. Opioid addiction…
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