Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Austin Amos was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in a violent attack that killed Kutin Gyimah, a 52-year-old taxi driver, following a confrontation over an unpaid fare from Manhattan to Far Rockaway in 2022. Amos was among a group of passengers in the cab who surrounded Gyimah and pummeled him. The defendant then struck the driver in the head causing Gyimah to fall and hit his head on the pavement, where he lay motionless as Amos and the others fled.

District Attorney Katz said: “Kutin Gyimah was brutally beaten and left for dead by Austin Amos and his codefendants after being confronted by Gyimah when the group ran off without paying their cab fare. I thank our prosecutors and the members of the NYPD who helped bring this defendant to justice.”

Amos, 22, of Beach 56th Place in Arverne, pleaded guilty in May to manslaughter in the first degree. Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant sentenced the defendant today to 10 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Another man, Nickolas Porter, 22, of Hassock Street, Queens, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to attempted gang assault in the second degree in connection with this incident. He was sentenced in February to two years in prison followed by three years post-release supervision.

According to the charges:

• On August 13, 2022, at approximately 6:24 a.m., Amos and Porter were passengers along with three girls under the age of 17 in a yellow minivan taxi driven by Gyimah. When the group disembarked near the intersection of Beach 54^th Street and Arverne Boulevard, they refused to pay for their ride. Gyimah attempted to pursue the individuals as they ran away from his taxi.
• Video surveillance footage shows that Gyimah managed to catch up to one of the females and struggled with her. Amos then circled back and punched Gyimah multiple times causing the victim to fall to the ground. Amos, Porter and two of the girls, then surrounded Gyimah, punching and kicking him repeatedly as he lay prone.
• Gyimah attempted to stand up and Amos punched Gyimah twice in the head, causing him to fall back and hit his head on the pavement. The entire group ran away leaving Gyimah motionless on the ground. Gyimah was pronounced dead later that day at a local hospital.

Assistant District Attorney Lauren Reilly, of the Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michael Whitney, Bureau Chief, Roni Piplani, Deputy Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.