QUEENS MAN INDICTED IN FATAL CAR CRASH

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kassun Brown has been charged with manslaughter and drunk driving in connection with a fatal car crash in St. Albans. Brown is accused of speeding through a stop sign and hitting another vehicle, killing its driver, a police officer from the 63rd Precinct. District Attorney Katz said: “There…

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DISTRICT ATTORNEY KATZ HOSTS 8TH ANNUAL MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION

The Queens District Attorney’s Office hosted its 8th Annual Mock Trial Competition over the weekend, with Rutgers School of Law defeating 15 other teams from top-tier, nationally ranked law schools. New York Supreme and Criminal Court judges presided as law school students competed before senior prosecutors and members of the defense bar. The event was…

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PIONEERING USE OF STATUTE RESTORES HOME TO DEED FRAUD VICTIMS

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that a house in St. Albans was returned to its rightful owners, a disabled veteran and his family, through the first-ever use of a state law enacted to protect deed fraud victims. District Attorney Katz said: “This is the first time the law has been applied in New York…

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DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN DEADLY SHOOTING OF ELMONT MAN

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Edson Giron Figueroa pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of a 25-year-old Elmont man in Jamaica, Queens. District Attorney Katz said: “By pleading guilty, the defendant admitted responsibility for ending a man’s life during a craven robbery attempt. I hope this resolution brings closure for…

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QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Paul Verite has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and other crimes for allegedly repeatedly injuring his 10-week-old female Boston Terrier to the point the puppy could neither walk nor stand. A necropsy and review of medical records revealed that the puppy, named Espy, suffered excruciating pain…

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DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS FOR DEATH OF PEDESTRIAN AND OTHER CRIMES

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Nigel Covington was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the death of a pedestrian struck by a stolen car he was driving before leaping out to evade police, and for driving into another woman, then beating her and stealing her purse.  The incidents occurred November and December…

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DEALER SENTENCED FOR SELLING DRUGS, LOADED FIREARM

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Renshan Lin was sentenced on February 7th to 7 ½ years in prison for selling narcotics and a loaded firearm to an undercover officer in 2021. On February 10th, the defendant received an additional 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison, to run concurrently, for possessing a loaded…

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LAURELTON MAN INDICTED FOR CAUSING LIE CRASH THAT KILLED TOW OPERATOR

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Denzel Porter was indicted and arraigned today on charges of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and other crimes. The defendant allegedly caused a chain of collisions on the Long Island Expressway that resulted in the death of a tow operator and serious injury to a…

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QUEENS MAN INDICTED ON SEX TRAFFICKING AND FIREARMS CHARGES

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Troy Siddons was arraigned on charges of sex trafficking of a child, rape and other crimes. Siddons was separately indicted for criminal weapon possession related to an incident in September. District Attorney Katz said: “I have put significant resources into finding and helping those who are being forced…

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DEFENDANTS PLEAD GUILTY IN SCHEME TO STEAL EAST ELMHURST HOME

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jorge Vasquez Jr. and Andy V. Singh pleaded guilty to grand larceny for filing fraudulent paperwork to claim ownership of an East Elmhurst home. The defendants impersonated a deceased woman and her son to unlawfully access the property’s mortgage information, then sold the house to a shell corporation.…

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