LONG ISLAND MAN WHO KIDNAPPED, BEAT AND TORTURED TWO MEN AFTER LURING THEM SEPARATELY TO LOCATIONS FOR SEX SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Gil Iphael has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping, robbery and promoting prostitution for three separate incidents. The defendant lured his victims to locations for sex with the help of a co-defendant, then the victims were detained, assaulted and robbed. In…

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FAKE PLASTIC SURGEON INDICTED ON MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES FOR PERFORMING PROCEDURE ON 31-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WHO DIED AFTER IMPLANT REMOVAL

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Felipe Hoyos Foronda has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of manslaughter, assault and unauthorized practice of a profession for allegedly performing cosmetic surgery without a license in his Astoria home. The 31-year-old victim, Maria Penaloza, went into cardiac arrest and died 14 days later. District…

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NYPD OFFICER CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTING TO DISSEMINATE INDECENT MATERIAL TO A MINOR

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Travis Desouza, a New York City police officer, was charged with attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors, official misconduct and other crimes for allegedly sending sexually explicit content via an online app to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old. Desouza was assigned to a Brooklyn…

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DA KATZ SHUTTERS ILLEGAL MOBILE CANNABIS DISPENSARY IN REGO PARK

  Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the closure of an unlicensed mobile cannabis dispensary that operated at Woodhaven Boulevard underneath the Long Island Expressway in Rego Park, near a school and park. In response to community complaints, the Queens District Attorney detective investigators conducted a series of undercover purchases at the van, which had…

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Your Weekly Update – April 18, 2025

I announced an indictment this week against a defendant for allegedly driving while impaired under the influence of alcohol and drugs and speeding down Northern Boulevard at more than three times the posted limit, killing another motorist… (continued)

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QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH RAPE OF WOMAN IN JAMAICA

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rody Morales Cu was charged with rape and sexual abuse for allegedly raping a 50-year-old woman early last Friday morning in Jamaica. District Attorney Katz said: “Rody Morales Cu is accused of accosting a stranger on a Jamaica street in the early morning hours of April 11…

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DRUG DEALING OPERATION DISMANTLED IN JACKSON HEIGHTS

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the indictment of nine individuals who were charged with selling and possessing controlled substances following a 17-month-long investigation into a drug peddling operation centered on 95th Street in Jackson Heights. Undercover investigators made 40 buys of cocaine, crack and fentanyl with a street value of more than $12,000. District…

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QUEENS MEN INDICTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING, PROMOTING PROSTITUTION

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Xu Cheng Sun and Jingchao Zhang have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and other crimes for trafficking a Chinese woman inside an East Flushing brothel. The woman arrived in the US from China in November and was taken to a…

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Your Weekly Update – April 11, 2025

Every April, we commemorate Crime Victims Rights Week. It is a time to acknowledge the struggles of crime victims and their families, and to acknowledge that survivors need both justice and support as they rebuild their lives after a traumatic incident… (continued)

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Your Weekly Update – April 4, 2025

A Queens squatter was sentenced to two years in prison recently for illegally occupying a single-family home in Flushing and renting out rooms to others in February 2024. The defendant forced himself into the house after the homeowner attempted to regain access, then falsely claimed that he was a legal tenant facing eviction and harassment. The incident…

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QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SEX TRAFFICKING TEENAGER AND WEAPONS CHARGES

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Troy Siddons pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and weapon possession charges for paying a 14-year-old for sex and later coercing her to engage in sex acts with paying customers to pay off a purported debt. The victim was held against her will and denied medical treatment for pain…

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THREE CHARGED IN 2019 STABBING DEATH OF 17-YEAR-OLD IN SOUTH JAMAICA

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Tianna Benjamin, Charles Gillespie and Kyra Tyrell have been indicted by a grand jury and charged with murder, weapon possession and conspiracy in the November 2019 stabbing death of 17-year-old Talasia Cuffie. The victim attended a memorial basketball game being held in honor of Aamir Griffin, a…

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SIBLING SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR FATALLY STABBING BROTHER

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Henrry Gutierrez was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his 52-year-old brother in July 2022. The incident occurred during an argument inside a multi-unit Jamaica residence where the two men lived on separate floors. District Attorney Katz said: “This is an extraordinary family…

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