Press Releases
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…
LONG ISLAND MAN CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY FOR POSING AS LAWYER AND STEALING MORE THAN $15,000
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Leonardo Ferretti was charged with grand larceny and other crimes for falsely representing himself as an attorney and charging a Corona woman more than $15,000 for immigration services. After meeting in December 2022, Ferretti socialized with the victim, allegedly offered a fake business card and provided routine updates…
NYPD OFFICER INDICTED FOR PERJURY AND OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT FOR FALSE TESTIMONY AND STATEMENTS IN GUN POSSESSION CASE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Miguel Vanbrakle, an NYPD officer, was indicted for perjury, tampering with physical evidence, official misconduct and other crimes for allegedly lying under oath and falsifying documents in a weapon possession case. The defendant’s testimony was allegedly contradicted by video from his body-worn camera. Vanbrakle was part of an…
SOUTH CAROLINA MAN EXTRADITED; ARRAIGNED FOR EXECUTION-STYLE MURDER OF 21-YEAR-OLD EX-GIRLFRIEND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that De’Ovryion Elijha Ray was extradited to New York and arraigned on an indictment charging him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon for the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Dashanna Donovan. The victim, Ray’s ex-girlfriend, was found shot dead inside her basement apartment in East Elmhurst on September…
DEFENDANT INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGE FOR 1998 COLD CASE STRANGULATION OF UNIDENTIFIED VICTIM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jose Velasquez was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned today on a charge of second-degree murder in the 1998 strangulation homicide of an unidentified female victim. The victim was found inside an Astoria motel on January 12, 1998, with a scarf tightly wrapped around her neck. No…
KEW GARDENS MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR POSSESSING ARSENAL OF WEAPONS, INCLUDING ASSAULT WEAPONS, AND BULLETPROOF VESTS INSIDE APARTMENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Charles Foehner was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty in November to criminal possession of a weapon stemming from charges in which the defendant was in possession of unlicensed and unregistered firearms, including four assault weapons, inside his Kew Gardens apartment. The defendant was accosted…
TWO DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH MURDER FOR STABBING DEATH OF 17-YEAR-OLD IN WOODHAVEN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 18-year-old Derek Trejo and a 17-year-old co-defendant have been charged with murder and weapon possession for the stabbing death of 17-year-old Josue Argudo in Woodhaven on Friday. The two defendants argued with the victim, who was returning home from school, and allegedly acted in concert to punch and…
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