Posts by Renea Henry
TWO FAR ROCKAWAY DEFENDANTS SENTENCED FOR KILLING LONG ISLAND MAN IN 2022
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Michael Williams has been sentenced to 22 years to life in prison and Kevon Johnson has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for killing 24-year-old Jabeon Bivins in August 2022. Johnson and Williams fired multiple shots in an open walkway at the Redfern Houses as…
Read MoreQUEENS VILLAGE MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR RAPING DAUGHTER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 60-year-old Queens Village man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a pattern of persistent and escalating sexual abuse against his daughter including intercourse. The man initiated the sexual abuse with his then 10-year-old child during school break visits then increased the assaults once he…
Read MoreFRESH MEADOWS MAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIMES FOR DAMAGING PROPERTY OUTSIDE JEWISH-OWNED BAGEL SHOP THAT DISPLAYED ISRAELI FLAGS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dawood Faisal was arraigned on hate crime charges for destroying property in May outside of a kosher bagel store on Union Turnpike in Fresh Meadows that displayed Israeli flags. Faisal allegedly knocked over multiple plant stands outside the shop on two separate occasions and, in one instance, hurled…
Read MoreBROOKLYN MAN WHO CHASED WOMAN WITH HAMMER CHARGED WITH ASSAULT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shaleek Brunson was arraigned on charges of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes for wielding a hammer and chasing a woman onto the grounds of the Jewish Institute of Queens in Rego Park. While there, Brunson pushed an 8-year-old boy into a fence and bit…
Read MoreMOTHER AND DAUGHTER CHARGED WITH OPERATING INTERNATIONAL STOLEN MERCHANDISE RING FROM EAST ELMHURST APARTMENT AND VALLEY STREAM HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced today that mother and daughter Maria Betances and Leslie Cruz were charged with criminal possession of stolen property, grand larceny, conspiracy and other crimes for allegedly operating a retail theft and fencing ring from a registered daycare. The duo allegedly…
Read MoreGEORGIA MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT AGAINST CORONA RESIDENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Luis Belis was indicted for first-degree murder and other offenses for fatally shooting 37-year-old Jairo Vinces-Cobena in March on a Corona street. Belis allegedly contracted with a third-party contact in Ecuador to kill the victim, whom he did not know, for a promised $20,000 payment. District Attorney…
Read MoreFLUSHING MAN SENTENCED TO 23 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FATAL EXECUTION-STYLE SHOOTING OUTSIDE CORONA DELI
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Omar Prado was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the execution-style shooting of 29-year-old Kelvin Gomez. Prado pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree last month, admitting that he shot the victim in June 2021. District Attorney Katz said: “After a petty verbal argument, defendant…
Read MoreDEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TRAFFICKING GUNS FROM GEORGIA TO SOUTHEAST QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jezerel Huston was sentenced to 10 years in prison for bringing dozens of guns into Queens. Huston pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree. He and codefendant Teddy Gaston were arrested in September 2025 after an undercover investigation resulted in the purchase of…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE BURGLARIES IN FIVE-WEEK SPAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Aaron McKelvey was charged in connection with seven burglaries and one attempted burglary at commercial buildings in Long Island City, Woodside, Maspeth and Jamaica in May and June. The defendant allegedly wandered through office spaces and, in some cases, rummaged through desks to take cash and credit cards.…
Read MoreDRIVER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN DEADLY HIT-AND-RUN IN MARCH ON JAMAICA AVENUE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Darius Adams was arraigned on an indictment charging him with manslaughter, assault, leaving the scene and other crimes for the death of Suzanne Schmieder, a Queens resident who was crossing Jamaica Avenue in March. Adams is alleged to have sped away after the crash and hours later called…
Read MoreTHREE DEFENDANTS SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR HOLDING FAMILY HOSTAGE IN 2024 DOUGLASTON HOME INVASION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ryan Dash, Brandon Dash and Oneil Thompson were sentenced for their roles in a violent home invasion robbery. The Dashes and defendant Jone Smith broke into a Douglaston family home in August 2024, brandished weapons and threatened the residents, including a child and an elderly couple, with demands…
Read MoreDRIVER OF CAR IN SHOOTING DEATH OF NYPD DET. JONATHAN DILLER SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Lindy Jones was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a weapon possession charge for a 9 mm pistol found in the glove compartment of the car he was driving. Jones was behind the wheel of the vehicle on March 25, 2024, when his passenger,…
Read MoreFIVE INDICTED FOR IDENTITY THEFT AND MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME IN FLUSHING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that five defendants were indicted by a grand jury and variously charged with mortgage fraud, identity theft, forgery and other crimes for falsifying documents to obtain a “cash-out” mortgage of more than $688,000 on a Flushing home that they did not own. The scheme was allegedly orchestrated by a…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 1993 MURDER OF ESTRANGED WIFE AFTER RETRIAL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Michael Robinson was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the 1993 stabbing death of his estranged wife, 29-year-old Gwendolyn Samuels. Robinson went to the Bayside home where Samuels worked as a housekeeper and then attacked the pregnant woman, stabbing her multiple times. In 2023,…
Read MoreDRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR COLLISION THAT KILLED 23-YEAR-OLD MOTORIST ON NORTHERN BOULEVARD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that former FDNY firefighter Michael Pena pleaded guilty to manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter for driving while intoxicated and slamming his Mercedes-Benz into another motorist at the intersection of 107th Street and Northern Boulevard in East Elmhurst on February 26, 2025. The victim, 23-year-old Justin Diaz, was driving northbound on…
Read MoreFIVE REPUTED GANG MEMBERS INDICTED FOR SPATE OF GUN VIOLENCE IN THE ROCKAWAYS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that five reputed gang members have been indicted for their roles in a shooting spree in the Rockaways that wounded two people in March and April. The defendants are variously indicted on charges of conspiracy, attempted murder, robbery, weapon possession and other crimes. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged,…
Read MoreFAR ROCKAWAY MAN SENTENCED TO 43 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF STEPSON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that a 43-year-old defendant was sentenced to 43 years in prison after being convicted at trial of sexually abusing his stepson. The abuse occurred over a period of seven years beginning when the youngster was 9 years old until he was 15 years old. District Attorney Katz said: “Instead…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO UP TO 17 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TARGETING EX-GIRLFRIEND FOR ATTACK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Brayahan Agudelo was sentenced to 13.8 to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to strangulation, stalking, burglary and other crimes for attacking his ex-girlfriend in 2025 and then enlisting an undercover police officer to harm her. Agudelo is accused of soliciting the officer, who was investigating the…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ABUSING 6-YEAR OLD IN JAMAICA DEPARTMENT STORE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Angel Farias was charged with sexual abuse and other crimes for touching a 6-year-old girl in a department store. Farias encountered the child, with whom he had no previous interaction, on April 16 and allegedly touched her genitals twice including once as the two were in the store’s…
Read MoreOWNER OF CLEANING COMPANY SENTENCED IN WAGE THEFT CASE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Christian Perez was sentenced to five years of probation after paying more than $28,000 in restitution to 30 former employees of cleaning companies he ran with his wife. The couple failed to pay wages owed to the workers. They are also banned from incorporating new companies in…
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