Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Bretford Brewer has been arraigned on murder and weapon possession charges for the stabbing death of Carlos Penzo, who was found in the bathtub of his Long Island City apartment with multiple stab wounds to his face, neck and torso. A large kitchen knife was found with the victim.

District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, the defendant stabbed 36-year-old Carlos Penzo multiple times in his face, neck and torso, and left the victim to die in his apartment. After the incident, defendant Bretford Brewer went to the stairwell landing next to the roof entrance of the Long Island City apartment building, sprayed a fire extinguisher toward a surveillance camera which activated the fire alarm, and then returned to the fourth floor where he attempted to re-enter the victim’s apartment. Our thoughts are with Carlos Penzo’s family as we prosecute this case and work to ensure the defendant is held fully accountable.”

Brewer, 36, of Brooklyn, was arraigned today on a criminal complaint charging him with murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, public lewdness and trespassing. Queens Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Saint Preux remanded the defendant and ordered him to return to court tomorrow. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

District Attorney Katz said that, according to the charges and investigation, on July 31, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Brewer entered the lobby of the Hayden LIC Apartments on Hunter Street. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants and white shoes with beige soles and told a witness that he was going to see Penzo in apartment 406, and he proceeded to take an elevator to the fourth floor.

At approximately 10 a.m. the following morning, the victim called 911 and provided his address, but no apartment number, before the line went silent. At approximately 12:30 p.m., a fire alarm was activated in the building and Brewer was observed naked with a fire extinguisher in the vicinity of a stairway landing leading to the building’s roof, 50 stories up. As the alarm rang, Brewer went to the 47^th floor, then took the elevator back to the victim’s fourth-floor apartment where he was confronted by a member of the building’s staff.

Brewer was held until police arrived. Police entered Penzo’s apartment and found it in disarray, with blood splattered in the bedroom, kitchen and on the handle of the front door. A kitchen knife with a broken handle was found on the bed and another large kitchen knife was found in the kitchen sink.

Penzo was discovered in the bathtub in a seated position with multiple stab wounds to his face, neck and torso. There was a large kitchen knife on top of his stomach.

A court-authorized search of the apartment resulted in the recovery of a shopping bag containing identification and insurance cards with Brewer’s name, a black shirt, black pants and white shoes with beige soles that had blood on them.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Ryan Moone of the 108^th Precinct Detective Squad and Detective Carmine Caruso of the Queens North Homicide Squad.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Kanella Georgopoulos of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau is prosecuting this case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Angel Semerdzhiev under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Bureau Chief, Karen Ross and Jonathan Selkowe, Deputy Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Chief Assistant District Attorney Shawn Clark.