Press Releases
BROOKLYN TEENAGER CHARGED WITH MURDER IN SHOOTING DEATH OF 19-YEAR-OLD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 16-year-old male was indicted for murder in the second degree and other crimes in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Kevin Hernandez in Ridgewood on April 22. The shooting took place on the same street as Joseph F. Quinn Intermediate School 77. District Attorney Katz said: “As…
DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO CAUSING FATAL THREE-CAR COLLISION ON THE LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY IN 2023
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Reginald Nash pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and assault for causing a high-speed, three-car collision in November 2023 on the Long Island Expressway. The defendant was driving at approximately 89 mph, with alcohol in his system, when he hit an exit barrier and spun out of control….
GLENDALE MAN ARRAIGNED FOR ASSAULTING 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND OFF-DUTY POLICE SERGEANT DURING APPREHENSION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Feliz Enrique was arraigned on a grand jury indictment charging him with assault in the first degree and other crimes. The defendant allegedly approached a 9-year-old girl as she was playing on a Glendale street and forcefully struck the child with his hand on May 10. When a…
FLUSHING MAN CONVICTED IN ABSENTIA OF VIOLENT ROBBERY OF QUEENS WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Michael Fan has been convicted of burglary in the first degree, robbery in the first degree and other crimes for a September 2022 violent attack on a Queens woman as she stood in front of her residence smoking a cigarette. The defendant failed to return to court…
BERNARDO RAUL CASTRO MATA PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ASSAULT FOR SHOOTING TWO POLICE OFFICERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Bernardo Raul Castro Mata pleaded guilty to attempted murder for shooting Police Officer Richard Yarusso in the lower chest area and assault for shooting Police Officer Christopher Abreu in the leg. The officers attempted to stop the defendant on June 3, 2024, for driving the wrong way on…
ASTORIA MAN CONVICTED OF MURDERING FDNY EMS LIEUTENANT IN SEPTEMBER 2022
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Peter Zisopoulos was convicted at trial of murder in the second degree and weapon possession for the vicious knife attack that claimed the life of Lieutenant Alison Russo, a 24-year veteran of the FDNY EMS. The victim was posthumously promoted to captain. The unprovoked attack occurred just…
BROTHERS PLEAD GUILTY TO POSSESSING BOMBS, ASSAULT WEAPONS AND 3D-PRINTED GUNS IN THEIR ASTORIA APARTMENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Andrew and Angelo Hatziagelis pleaded guilty to possession of explosive substances, assault weapons and other charges after an arsenal of improvised explosive devices, ghost guns and 3D-printed weapons was found inside an Astoria apartment they shared with their mother and another brother. Instructions for making a variety of…
BROOKLYN MAN INDICTED FOR STABBING DEATH OF FLUSHING WOMAN IN 2022
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Shao Tong Lian was indicted by a grand jury and charged with murder in the second degree for the August 2022 death of 55-year-old Fang Chen, who was discovered fatally stabbed after the defendant visited her Flushing apartment for sex. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, this…
MARYLAND MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR SHOOTING SPRINGFIELD GARDENS GRANDFATHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Sheldon Dottin was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison following an April jury conviction for murder. Dottin confronted his children’s grandfather, 72-year-old Gladstone Barrett, in the older man’s Springfield Gardens home in April 2022 and shot him. Dottin then fled to Panama before he was…
RIDGEWOOD MAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND OFF-DUTY POLICE SERGEANT DURING APPREHENSION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Feliz Enrique was arraigned on charges of assault and other crimes for striking a 9-year-old girl with his hand as she played on a street in Glendale. As the defendant was apprehended by an off-duty police sergeant, Enrique bit the top off the officer’s right index finger. District…
CORONA MAN INDICTED FOR FIRST-DEGREE MURDER FOR FATAL STABBING OF BICYCLIST
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Nelson Torres was indicted by a grand jury and charged with murder in the first degree for the death of 22-year-old Anderson David Archila Martinez after the two encountered each other on a Corona sidewalk on April 14. The victim rode his bicycle near Torres and inadvertently…
NINE DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH DEFRAUDING DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAMS: ALLEGEDLY STOLE MORE THAN $2.2 MILLION WITH BOGUS CLAIMS OF ECONOMIC HARM DUE TO COVID-19
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang announced that nine individuals have been charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes for allegedly separately stealing thousands of dollars in pandemic relief funds intended to help small business owners suffering hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic….
TWENTY DEFENDANTS INDICTED IN VEHICLE THEFT RING DUBBED OPERATION HELLCAT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced today that 20 defendants have been indicted and variously charged in a wide-ranging scheme to steal cars — from Hondas to Dodge Hellcats to BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes and Land Rovers — throughout New…
JACKSON HEIGHTS MAN SENTENCED TO UP TO 30 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MONTHS-LONG BURGLARY SPREE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Juan Morales was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison after being convicted in a jury trial of burglary, attempted burglary and other charges for a three-month crime spree spanning 2022 and 2023. The defendant broke into homes across Queens County and stole tens of thousands…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR TRIPLE STABBING OF GIRLFRIEND, HER SON AND A COUSIN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Travis Blake was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2022 murders of his girlfriend, Karlene Barnett, and two of her family members, Dervon Brightly and Vashawna Malcolm. Blake was convicted by a jury last month of murder in the first degree and…
LONG ISLAND MAN WHO KIDNAPPED, BEAT AND TORTURED TWO MEN AFTER LURING THEM SEPARATELY TO LOCATIONS FOR SEX SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Gil Iphael has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping, robbery and promoting prostitution for three separate incidents. The defendant lured his victims to locations for sex with the help of a co-defendant, then the victims were detained, assaulted and robbed. In…
ALLEGED VANDAL INDICTED ON CRIMINAL CHARGES AFTER DESTROYING RELIGIOUS STATUE IN ASTORIA CATHOLIC CHURCH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jose Rodriguez has been indicted on charges of burglary, attempted assault, hate crime of aggravated harassment and other related crimes for allegedly striking a statue of the baby Jesus in front of the altar at Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria on April 6. The statue fell to the…
TWO MEN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR SHOOTING AN OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER DURING AN ATTEMPTED CARJACKING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Denzel Brown and Marvin Dankwah have been charged with attempted murder, attempted robbery, weapon possession and other related crimes for attempting to steal a green BMW from an off-duty police officer at gunpoint and shooting at the vehicle as the victim tried driving away. The shooting, which took…
FAKE PLASTIC SURGEON INDICTED ON MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES FOR PERFORMING PROCEDURE ON 31-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WHO DIED AFTER IMPLANT REMOVAL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Felipe Hoyos Foronda has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of manslaughter, assault and unauthorized practice of a profession for allegedly performing cosmetic surgery without a license in his Astoria home. The 31-year-old victim, Maria Penaloza, went into cardiac arrest and died 14 days later. District…
LONG ISLAND MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER OF MOTORCYCLIST IN FATAL ROAD RAGE INCIDENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jordan Rosen was indicted by a grand jury and charged with murder in the second degree for the death of a 55-year-old Astoria man on April 5 during an alleged road rage incident that began on a Long Island Expressway exit ramp. Rosen pursued the other driver,…
Meet the DA
