Posts by ASokol@queensda.org

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Matthew Rodriguez was arraigned and remanded today on indictment charges of attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon for shooting a 15-year-old victim aboard a Manhattan-bound A train on April 27. The victim was in a physical fight with Rodriguez’ co-defendant stemming from an earlier shooting…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jose Polanco was indicted for grand larceny and other crimes for collectively stealing more than $1 million from two borrowers at mortgage refinancings and from Dime Community Bank by writing bad checks. During this fraudulent scheme, Polanco, a former attorney who has been suspended since 2018, allegedly…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Yang Zhang was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for the stabbing death of Yat Ming Wong, who was killed in his apartment in May 2022. Zhang entered the man’s home and woke up the victim and his wife. A physical altercation ensued between the…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Richard Swygert was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison on murder, two counts of attempted murder and related charges for killing one man and seriously injuring two others in a New Years’ Day shooting in 2021. Swygert and one of his companions got into an…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Zahir Davis was arraigned on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, gang assault and weapon possession for the shooting death of 15-year-old Jaden Pierre in Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans on April 16. District Attorney Katz said: “Jaden Pierre was beaten by other…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the closure of an unlicensed storefront cannabis dispensary operating on Bell Boulevard in Bayside. A court-authorized search of the premises on May 14 resulted in the seizure of thousands of pounds of illicit cannabis and tobacco products and two arrests on felony-level charges. The enforcement efforts were in response…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Daniel was convicted by a jury of three counts of murder in the first degree for the stabbing deaths of two tenants and his girlfriend inside his St. Albans home in November 2023. The defendant told investigators the attacks were prompted by the tenants’ failure to pay…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Mark Albano was convicted yesterday by a jury of murder, attempted murder and other crimes for stabbing four men in 2021, killing one on the Grand Avenue-Newton subway platform and seriously injuring three others. These attacks took place on four separate days over two-week period. District Attorney Katz…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dwayne Scott was sentenced to 21-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for gunning down a 20-year-old man in September 2021. The victim, father of a toddler and the defendant’s former friend, was fatally shot over an apparent money dispute. District Attorney…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Richard Dixon was convicted of murder and other crimes for a June 2022 shooting in Ozone Park that led to the death of his accomplice, Raymond Francis, instead of the individual he was pursuing. The incident also resulted in multiple gun injuries to the two intended victims. The…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shaniqua Fort was indicted on charges of first-degree arson, reckless endangerment and other crimes for allegedly setting fires at several storefront locations along Flushing and Grand Avenues in Maspeth on April 13. The defendant allegedly started a blaze that destroyed a Chinese restaurant and the apartments above the…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Roman Amatitla was indicted on upgraded charges of murder in the first degree along with murder in the second degree, arson in the first degree and related charges for setting a fire that killed four occupants of a Flushing building in March and injured seven others, including two…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rodolfo Lopez-Portillo was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally beating Arasb Shoughi during a pawn store robbery in March 2022. The defendant sold two watches to the 60-year-old store owner and then violently attacked the victim with what appeared to be a metal pipe,…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Paublo Torres was indicted on charges of murder in the second degree, assault and other crimes for fatally shooting 34-year-old Denis Enrique Reyes-Nunez, his half-brother, at a crowded Hollis sports bar in February. The bar manager was also injured in the shooting. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged,…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that two defendants have been indicted on charges related to the shooting death and assault of 15-year-old Jaden Pierre during a large gathering of teens in Roy Wilkins Park last month. A group of teenagers allegedly set upon Jaden and beat him before one teen took out a gun…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Nadia Shihata announced that James Wilson was arraigned on charges of grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing for submitting documentation falsely claiming that he had been treated by healthcare professionals in order to justify being out on sick leave…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dauri Batita has been charged with attempted robbery, assault and other crimes for ramming into a carload of women with his cargo van, striking another vehicle and assaulting four men, two of whom he attempted to rob. Batita was wearing a blue vest bearing the Amazon logo and…