Press Releases
TWO EDGEMERE MEN PLEAD GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR SHOOTING DEATH OF 10-YEAR-OLD BOY IN DISPUTE OVER SHARED DRIVEWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Ashram Lochan and Jovan Young have pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for the 2021 shooting that caused the death of a 10-year-old boy and seriously injured another man. The incident was sparked by an earlier dispute over a shared driveway. District Attorney Katz said:…
DISTRICT ATTORNEY KATZ RELEASES WARNING ABOUT SCAMMERS POSING AS LAW ENFORCEMENT AND TARGETING CHINESE COMMUNITY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is warning members of the Chinese community about an ongoing scam in which bad actors impersonate Chinese police officers to extort money. The scammers claim that the victim is being investigated for insurance fraud in China and demand immediate payment to avoid arrest and possible extradition. One person has been…
FIVE DEFENDANTS INDICTED FOR PHONY REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT SCHEME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that five defendants have been indicted for conspiracy, possession of stolen property, identity theft and other crimes for conducting a fraudulent investment scheme that swindled victims out of nearly $3 million. The defendants allegedly lured victims to invest in a firm that purported to buy distressed properties and…
CORONA MAN CHARGED WITH ROBBERY FOR MUGGING 92-YEAR-OLD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Bobby Gadsen has been indicted for robbery, assault and other crimes for stealing cellphones from two victims in Forest Hills earlier this month, one a 92-year-old man walking with the assistance of a cane. Gadsen was arrested three days later, after a second cellphone snatching that targeted a…
BRONX MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER FOR KILLING 59-YEAR-OLD MAN IN RANDOM SUBWAY STABBING ON THE J TRAIN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jyrell Thomas has been arraigned on murder and weapon possession charges for the fatal stabbing of 59-year-old Mesias Lojano on the subway Wednesday night. Thomas entered a busy subway car and stood alone until the northbound J train approached Woodhaven station, when he produced a knife and randomly…
THIRTEEN DEFENDANTS SENTENCED FOR ROLES IN ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT OPERATION THAT TARGETED HOME DEPOT LOCATIONS IN NINE STATES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that 13 defendants have pleaded guilty to felony charges and have been sentenced in connection with an organized theft operation that targeted Home Depot locations in New York and eight other states. Members of the Queens-based theft crew stole building supplies, power tools, smoke alarms and other goods…
DA KATZ WRITES TO STATE PAROLE BOARD TO OPPOSE RELEASE OF COP KILLER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has written to the state parole board to urge the body to keep David McClary behind bars for the 1988 assassination of New York City Police officer Edward Byrne. The rookie cop was murdered as he sat in his patrol car guarding the South Jamaica home of a witness in…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO THREE TO NINE YEARS IN PRISON FOR SEX TRAFFICKING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Leighton Jennings was sentenced to three to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking a 25-year-old woman. The defendant admitted that he intentionally advanced or profited from prostitution by making materially false statements or omissions to induce the woman to continue to engage in prostitution….
OAKLAND GARDENS WOMAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR RANDOM KNIFE ATTACK ON BAYSIDE MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Melissa Duran was arraigned on a complaint charging her with attempted murder, assault and other crimes for randomly attacking a man as he stood outside his home on 53rd Avenue. Duran pulled up in front of a 54-year-old Bayside man’s house Thursday morning and cut the stranger across…
ALLEGED SQUATTERS INDICTED FOR ILLEGALLY OCCUPYING BAYSIDE HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Vernon Glass and Lusascha Taylor have been indicted on charges of burglary, grand larceny and criminal trespass for illegally occupying a vacant Bayside home for more than two years. The prior owner of the home died in 2018 without heirs or a will. District Attorney Katz said: “As…
LONG ISLAND MAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES FOR 2023 SHOOTING OUTSIDE ST. ALBANS NIGHTCLUB
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jhavaughn Pinnock was arraigned on an indictment charging him with murder and other crimes in connection with the April 2023 shooting death of 23-year-old Jevaughn Jeminson outside the Pure Lounge nightclub in St. Albans. Pinnock was apprehended in Florida and extradited to New York. District Attorney Katz…
FAR ROCKAWAY MAN SENTENCED TO 4 ½ YEARS IN PRISON FOR GANG ASSAULT DURING ILLEGAL MALBA CAR MEETUP
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Justin Aguilera was sentenced to 4½ years in prison for brutally attacking a Malba couple outside their home during an illegal car meetup in November 2025. Aguilera pleaded guilty last month to gang assault after attacking the male homeowner, who attempted to clear him and other trespassers from…
FORMER POSTAL WORKER CHARGED WITH CASHING STOLEN U.S. TREASURY CHECKS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Kasandra Perez was arrested for grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of a forged instrument and other crimes for allegedly cashing United States Treasury checks intended for others while working as a clerk at the South Ozone Park post office. Perez is alleged to…
BROOKLYN MAN SENTENCED TO 17 YEARS FOR CARJACKING THAT LED TO NYPD FRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kevin Dubuisson was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for robbery, assault and menacing for an August 2025 carjacking incident that preceded an NYPD detective being shot in the hand and leg in a friendly fire incident. An 87-year-old woman and her 59-year-daughter were injured when Dubuisson…
BROOKLYN MAN INDICTED FOR FATALLY STABBING LONG ISLAND CITY RESIDENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Bretford Brewer was indicted for murder, weapon possession and public lewdness for the fatal stabbing of 36-year-old Carlos Penzo in the victim’s Long Island City apartment in August. Penzo was found in his bathtub with multiple stab wounds and a large knife on his stomach. Brewer was apprehended…
DEFENDANT CONVICTED OF ASSAULT FOR BRUTAL ATTACK OF ASTORIA MASSEUSE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Tahir Toloa was convicted at trial in the 2024 assault on a masseuse inside an Astoria spa. The defendant viciously attacked the 55-year-old victim with a firearm and his fists, then forced her to open a register at gunpoint and removed money. He then sexually assaulted the…
BROOKLYN MAN CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BURGLARIES IN FIVE-WEEK SPAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch announced that Gregory Schroeder was charged in connection with five burglaries and one attempted burglary at businesses, a Boys & Girls Club location and a private residence during a five-week period in May and June. The defendant allegedly took $9,300 in…
FLUSHING MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 2022 SHOOTING NEAR BODEGA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Damion Howell was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the August 2022 murder of Julian Askew in Jamaica. Howell was convicted by a jury of fatally shooting the 29-year-old after the men got into an argument in a bodega over crude remarks the defendant made…
QUEENS RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SHOOTING LONG ISLAND MAN OUTSIDE FUNERAL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Joseph Gilbert Stevens was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for fatally shooting 49-year-old Richard Carter outside of a funeral in April. Stevens pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July for the fatal shooting. District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant acted without consideration or respect for an entire…
BROOKLYN MAN WHO CHASED WOMAN WITH HAMMER INDICTED FOR ASSAULT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shaleek Brunson was indicted on charges of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes for wielding a hammer and chasing a woman onto the grounds of the Jewish Institute of Queens in Rego Park. While there, Brunson ran into the school yard where children were playing…