Press Releases
AMITYVILLE MAN INDICTED ON MANSLAUGHTER, DRUNK DRIVING AND OTHER CHARGES AFTER COLLISION THAT KILLED FEMALE PASSENGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kenyatta Weston Jr. was indicted by a grand jury on charges of manslaughter, driving under the influence, criminal possession of a weapon and other charges for a February 8, 2025, crash on the Belt Parkway that resulted in the death of 27-year-old Elizabeth Vanessa Perla-Hernandez. The defendant is…
GLENDALE RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 17 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTACK ON 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND OFF-DUTY POLICE SERGEANT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Feliz Enrique was sentenced to 17 years in prison for attacking a 9-year-old girl who was playing on a Glendale street. The defendant forcefully hit the child with an open hand in May 2025, knocking her to the ground. When an off-duty police sergeant who was nearby intervened…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO UP TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TRAFFICKING TEEN GIRL AND WEAPON POSSESSION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Troy Siddons was sentenced to seven to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty in April 2025 to sex trafficking and weapon possession charges. Siddons admitted that he paid a 14-year-old girl $300 for sex and then threatened and coerced her to engage in sex acts with…
MARRIED COUPLE PLEADS GUILTY IN WAGE THEFT CASE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that married couple Christian Perez and Ines Perez Miranda, along with their two cleaning companies, pleaded guilty to failing to pay wages for company employees. The defendants were ordered to make restitution to 30 victims totaling over $28,000. District Attorney Katz said: “These defendants failed to pay their…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 22 ½ YEARS IN PRISON FOR STRANGLING LANDLADY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Davi Vidal was sentenced to 22 ½ years in prison for killing his 55-year-old landlady, Zoraida Leo, by strangulation in December 2023. Vidal, also known as Deiby Vidal, leased an attic unit in the victim’s multi-unit residence in East Elmhurst for two years before the deadly confrontation over…
JAMAICA RESIDENT INDICTED ON VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE FOR EARLY MORNING COLLISION THAT KILLED SCOOTER OPERATOR
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ryan Rampersaud was indicted on charges of vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence for a January 2026 collision that killed Blanca Arias-Miranda in Astoria, who was operating a scooter. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, the defendant was driving while intoxicated, barreled into a…
ASTORIA MAN WHO SHOVED HIS MOTHER OUT OF THIRD FLOOR WINDOW SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that George Tsintzelis was sentenced to 25 years in prison following a jury conviction on charges of attempted murder, assault and other crimes. The defendant defenestrated his 64-year-old mother¸ Paraskevi Tsintzelis, out of their third-floor apartment window in 2024. District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant committed an unthinkable…
VIRGINIA MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 1992 COLD CASE MURDER OF FAR ROCKAWAY TEEN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jerry Lewis was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after being convicted at trial for the murder of 15-year-old Nadine Slade, who was strangled to death in May 1992. The victim was found dead inside a bathroom her family shared with an adjacent unit at…
BRIARWOOD MAN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY FOR ATTEMPTED ASSAULT ON NYPD OFFICER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jabez Chakraborty was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned on charges of attempted assault and weapon possession for advancing on an NYPD officer while holding a large kitchen knife. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, the defendant tried to attack a police officer while holding a large…
DEFENDANT EXTRADITED FROM SOUTH KOREA TO FACE CHARGES FOR 2002 MURDER IN FLUSHING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ho “Alex” Shin was extradited from South Korea and arraigned on indictment charges of murder and related crimes for fatally stabbing 22-year-old Hyun Dae Kim in January 2002 inside an apartment in Flushing. The defendant is also charged with attempted murder for stabbing another 22-year-old victim in the…
NINE DEFENDANTS PLEAD GUILTY IN DISASTER RELIEF SCHEME; ORDERED TO MAKE RESTITUTION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang announced that nine defendants pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars in pandemic relief funds intended to help small business owners suffering hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the plea, the defendants have been ordered to make restitution payments…
DEFENDANT EXTRADITED FROM GERMANY TO FACE MANSLAUGHTER INDICTMENT FOR ROLE IN FATAL COLLISION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Florin Stoian, AKA Slaco Razmias, AKA Slavco Rostas, was extradited from Germany and arraigned on indictment charges of manslaughter, arson, tampering with evidence and related crimes for hitting a pedestrian with a rented BMW X6 while the victim was crossing the street at Myrtle Avenue and Hancock Street…
DA’S OFFICE SECURES COURT ORDER TO RETURN TWO HOMES TO RIGHTFUL OWNERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that two homes were returned on January 28 to their rightful owners after a judge voided fraudulent deeds for the properties. The homes were stolen as part of a deed fraud scheme and the defendants then sold the properties to third parties. Four people were ultimately convicted for the…
DA KATZ, NYPD & ATTORNEY GENERAL REMOVE MORE THAN 100 GUNS, INCLUDING 10 ASSAULT WEAPONS, AS PART OF GUN BUYBACK EVENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 124 guns were collected Saturday at the Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Southeast Queens during a gun buyback event. The weapons were exchanged for bank cards pre-loaded with cash. The event was completely anonymous, with no identification required and no questions asked. The buyback served as the 12th…
BROOKLYN MAN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY FOR NEARLY FATAL ATTACK ON COUSIN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jonathan Velez was indicted on assault and reckless endangerment charges for punching his cousin after the two got into an argument on Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park in August. Velez allegedly knocked his 39-year-old relative to the ground and while the victim was unconscious, the defendant went through…
NEW JERSEY MAN INDICTED FOR ASSAULT STEMMING FROM 2023 HIT-AND-RUN COLLISION THAT SERIOUSLY INJURED 26-YEAR-OLD MOTORCYCLIST
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Moustafa Taher was indicted for assault, reckless driving, leaving the scene and other crimes for a motor vehicle collision that took place on November 18, 2023, at the intersection of 29th Street and Broadway in Astoria. Taher struck the victim, who was operating a motorcycle, and seriously…
DEFENDANT ARRAIGNED ON HATE CRIME CHARGES FOR UNPROVOKED ATTACK ON RABBI IN FOREST HILLS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Eric Zafra Grosso was arraigned on assault as a hate crime and related charges for allegedly attacking a man who was wearing a yarmulke and walking at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Yellowstone Boulevard on Tuesday. The unprovoked attack was preceded by antisemitic slurs. District Attorney Katz…
MASPETH MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER FOR STABBING FELLOW BAR PATRON IN THE HEART AT WOODSIDE BUS STOP
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Olmedo Osorio was convicted of murder in the second degree for the fatal stabbing of 55-year-old Freddy Jimenez during an argument at a Woodside bus stop in September 2022. The men had been inside the same bar shortly before the altercation. District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant brutally…
DA KATZ ANNOUNCES PADLOCKING OF FOUR ILLEGAL CANNABIS STOREFRONTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the third phase of a sweeping enforcement action against illegal cannabis storefronts in the borough. Dubbed Operation Weed Whacker, the months-long investigation included undercover buys and resulted in the padlocking of four locations, seven arrests and the seizure of hundreds of pounds of illicit cannabis and tobacco products. Two…
VIRGINIA MAN CONVICTED OF 1992 COLD CASE MURDER OF FAR ROCKAWAY TEEN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jerry Lewis was convicted at trial of murder for strangling 15-year-old Nadine Slade to death in May 1992. The victim was found dead inside a bathroom her family shared with an adjacent unit at a multi-family home in Far Rockaway. The defendant was arrested in May 2023 after…
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