Announcements
FAMILY OF ALLEGED SCAM ARTISTS CHARGED WITH NUMEROUS CRIMES, INCLUDING GRAND LARCENY, IDENTITY THEFT, TAX FRAUD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Stephanie Bailey, 50, her daughter Chianti Baily, 31, and her sister Latonya Bailey Dostaly, 45, have been charged with multiple crimes including grand larceny, forgery, perjury, identify theft, defrauding the government and official misconduct. District Attorney Katz said, “As alleged, these defendants used virtually every trick in…
GEORGIA DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO RAPING WOMAN IN QUEENS ALLEY IN 2020
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rony Lopez Alvarez, 39, has pleaded guilty to rape in the first the first degree. The defendant attacked a woman, dragged her into a dark alley and raped her in 2020. The defendant fled the state but was caught in Georgia and brought back to Queens to…
JURY CONVICTS QUEENS MAN OF MURDER FOR BUS STOP STABBING DEATH IN 2018
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Micah Brown, 24, has been convicted at trial of murder and other crimes. The defendant stabbed a 25-year-old man multiple times during a February 2018 confrontation near a Jamaica, Queens, bus stop. District Attorney Katz said, “An argument should never escalate to such levels of brutality. The…
JURY CONVICTS QUEENS MAN OF MURDER FOR KILLING THE SON OF HIS LANDLORD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Hopeton Prendergast, 66, has been convicted at trial of murder and other crimes. The defendant – who was a tenant being evicted from a shared residence on 220th Street in Queens Village – fatally stabbed to death the 23-year-old son of the property owner in September 2019….
DISBARRED LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR SWINDLING DOZENS OF CLIENTS OUT OF MORE THAN $1.8 MILLION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that former lawyer Yohan Choi, 47, has been sentenced to prison for bilking more than 50 clients – whom he represented before and after he was barred from practicing law – out nearly $2 million in lawsuit settlement money. District Attorney Katz said, “This defendant took an oath…
MANHATTAN MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR 2020 ROBBERY AND HATE CRIME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Kevin Carroll, 39, has been sentenced to 18 years-to-life in prison after a jury convicted the Manhattan resident of robbery and aggravated harassment, a hate crime. District Attorney Katz said, “Our Office successfully prosecuted the defendant after he targeted a man waiting for a train at the…
TWO QUEENS MEN INDICTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING TEENAGE GIRLS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Mario Serrano and Shaquille Lopez, both 23, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court. Both men – acting independently of one another – allegedly trafficked the same two teenage girls between November 2021 and February 2022. District Attorney Katz said,…
QUEENS WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN DEATH OF IMMIGRATION LAWYER STABBED IN HIS FLUSHING OFFICE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that XiaoNing Zhang, 25, has been charged with murder and possession of a weapon in the death of a well-known Queens immigration lawyer. The defendant allegedly repeatedly stabbed the 66-year-old man late Monday morning in the victim’s office on 39th Avenue in Flushing. District Attorney Katz said, “As…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR STABBING WOMAN TO DEATH IN 2020
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Edwin Sarmiento, 31, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for stabbing a 30-year-old woman to death in February 2020. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant has now admitted to the brutal slaying of a young woman. The victim was stabbed with at least two…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY HOSTS MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION
This weekend, March 4-6, 2022, the Queens District Attorney’s Office hosted its 7th Mock Trial Competition, the first under Queens DA Melinda Katz. Due to Covid concerns, 16 law schools from around the country participated virtually in this competition and tried a murder case under New York State law. Supreme Court and Criminal Court judges…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR STABBING TO DEATH SON-IN-LAW IN 2019
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Marco Ortiz, 48, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for killing his son-in-law while the defendant’s daughter was in the hospital after giving birth to their second child. The defendant stabbed his daughter’s husband inside the home they all shared in Briarwood, Queens, on…
DA KATZ ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS CHIEF COLLEEN BABB AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS THOMAS E. DEWEY MEDAL FOR OUTSTANDING WORK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Colleen Babb, Executive Assistant District Attorney of the Community Partnerships Division, is the Queens County recipient of the seventeenth annual Thomas E. Dewey Medal. The Thomas E. Dewey Medal is awarded each year by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York to an outstanding…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ANNOUNCES GRANTS AWARDED TO 28 RECIPIENTS FOR THE QUEENS COMMUNITY YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced grant funding to 28 community-based organizations for the implementation of her Office’s Community Youth Development and Crime Prevention Project (CYDCPP). The District Attorney’s initiative aims to provide youth activities and wrap around services to help prevent crime and keep young people out of the criminal justice system. District…
DOZENS OF GUNS TAKEN OFF STREETS IN LATEST GUN BUY BACK EVENT CO-HOSTED BY QUEENS DA MELINDA KATZ WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS AND THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and the New York City Police Department announced that 40 guns were collected today at First Baptist Church in East Elmhurst, Queens. The gun buy-back event was co-sponsored by The New York City Police Foundation, The New York City Police Department, First Baptist Church of East Elmhurst, New York State…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ APPOINTS 48 NEW ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the appointment of 48 new Assistant District Attorneys – which is the largest class ever – to join the Queens District Attorney’s Office. Of the 48 new prosecutors, 27 are women and 21 are men. “I am proud to welcome this diverse group of talented, dedicated professionals and…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO SIX GROUPS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE QUEENS COMMUNITY VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROJECT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced grants have been awarded to six community organizations for the implementation of her office’s Queens Community Violence Prevention Project (QCVPP). The District Attorney’s initiative aims to improve public safety and promote the fair administration of justice through the implementation of community-based violence prevention strategies. District Attorney Katz said,…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ: BORO-WIDE OVERDOSE DEATHS SURGED DURING PANDEMIC
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today said drug overdose deaths in Queens County surged during the Covid pandemic, echoing recently-released national data. DA Katz said, “In 2020, there were 391 overdose deaths, a 45.5 percent increase over 2019, when there were 268 overdose deaths. There is no question that the pandemic, which fueled a national…
DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ASKS COURT TO DISMISS THOUSANDS OF MARIJUANA CASES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz appeared virtually today in Queens Criminal Court to request that thousands of marijuana cases be dismissed and sealed. District Attorney Katz said, “For many years, I have advocated for the decriminalization of recreational marijuana use and other low-level, marijuana-related offenses. Since taking office, I have declined to prosecute these cases…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ANNOUNCES CREATION OF CRIME STRATEGIES AND INTELLIGENCE UNIT
District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the creation of a new Crime Strategies and Intelligence Unit to improve public safety in Queens County by focusing prosecutorial resources on proactively reducing and preventing criminal activity, particularly violent criminal offenses and gun trafficking. DA Katz also announced the appointment of Shanon LaCorte as the Unit’s Director. District…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY CO-HOSTS GUN BUY BACK EVENT WITH NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES AND NYPD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, along with New York Attorney General Letitia James and the New York City Police Department will sponsor a Gun Buy Back event this Saturday, June 12th, at St. Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic Church in Springfield Gardens, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “In these difficult days, it is important that we…
