Court Cases
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN STRAY BULLET DEATH OF NYCHA WORKER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jerald Bethea, is facing murder and weapons charges for shooting and killing a worker who was tending the grounds of the Astoria Houses in April 2020. The innocent bystander was hit by a bullet that was intended for someone else. District Attorney Katz said, “The victim in…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR SHOOTING AT NYPD OFFICERS RESPONDING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 911 CALL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens County grand jury has indicted Rodolfo Montero, 25, who was arraigned on attempted murder in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly attacking the mother of his child and then firing multiple shots at police officers when they responded to her home this September…
QUEENS MOTHER ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES OF ATTEMPTED MURDER OF NEWBORN BOY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Sabita Dookram, 23, has been charged with attempted murder and other crimes for allegedly tossing her newborn son out of her bathroom window shortly after she gave birth. District Attorney Katz said, “This is a heartbreaking situation. A newborn baby has suffered greatly because of the alleged…
DA KATZ: QUEENS RESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED ASSAULT FOR SLASHING MAN IN FACE IN WHITE CASTLE RESTAURANT IN 2017
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Billy Lavayen, 34, a reputed founding member of ABK (Always Banging Kings) street gang, has pleaded guilty to attempted assault in the brutal slashing of a man in an Elmhurst fast food restaurant in February 2017. The victim was attacked by a group of men and women…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES IN STABBING DEATH OF WIFE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Carmelo Mendoza, 41, has been arraigned following a Queens County grand jury handing up an indictment charging the defendant with murder for fatally stabbing his wife inside their Jackson Heights apartment in July. District Attorney Katz said, “This is the worst outcome of domestic violence, an argument…
CIGARETTE SMUGGLER PAYS MORE THAN $1.3 MILLION TO NEW YORK STATE AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO GRAND LARCENY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Nicholas Galafano, 58, has agreed to forfeit more than $1.3 million in cash that was recovered during a long-term investigation into a cigarette smuggling ring run by the defendant. Galafano was sentenced today for illegally selling untaxed cigarettes. Over the course of 2020, the Queens District Attorney’s…
QUEENS RESIDENT CHARGED IN STRAY BULLET SHOOTING THAT KILLED MARRIED MOTHER OF THREE IN JACKSON HEIGHTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Issam Elabbar, 31, has been charged with murder, manslaughter and other crimes for allegedly firing a single shot on the morning of Wednesday, September 30 that pierced a 3rd floor apartment window and struck a woman, killing her. District Attorney Katz said, “This is a heart-wrenching case….
MAN INDICTED ON RAPE AND ASSAULT CHARGES FOR ATTACK ON WOMAN INSIDE FOREST PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, 32, has been arraigned after a Queens County grand jury handed up an indictment charging the defendant with rape in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly assaulting a 51-year-old woman as she walked in Forest Park around 6:30 p.m. on July 25, 2020….
BROOKLYN MAN INDICTED FOR VIOLENT ATTACKS ON TWO WOMEN JUST WEEKS APART IN VICTIMS’ APARTMENT BUILDINGS IN REGO PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Richard Smalls, 58, of Brooklyn has been arraigned after a Queens County grand jury indicted him on burglary, robbery and other charges for two alleged surprise attacks on women in Rego Park, Queens. The defendant is accused of pouncing on a 50-year-old woman moments after she entered…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES IN STABBING DEATH OF MOTHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that David Galicia, 48, was arraigned following a Queens County grand jury indicting the defendant on murder charges and other crimes for allegedly slashing his elderly mother to death on April 24, 2020. The victim had stab wounds to her head and hands and was found slumped on…
ARRAIGNMENT UPDATE: QUEENS MAN ARRAIGNED ON INDICTMENT CHARGING HIM WITH MURDER AS A HATE CRIME FOR LABOR DAY STABBING DEATH
Defendant James Williams, 51, of New Haven Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens, was arraigned today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree as a hate crime, murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third and fourth degree and tampering…
DISBARRED QUEENS ATTORNEY CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY FOR STEALING SETTLEMENT CASH FROM CLIENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Yohan Choi, 44, has been charged with grand larceny, forgery and other crimes for allegedly bilking a client out of more than $66,000 and fraudulently holding onto the settlement funds of a lawsuit for more than two years. District Attorney Katz said, “The victim in this case…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE IN FATAL CAR CRASH THAT KILLED WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Nicholas Thompson, 35, has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges for the Saturday night deadly car crash that killed a female passenger on Rockaway Blvd. in Jamaica, Queens. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said, “As a result of this defendant’s alleged criminal behavior, a…
FAR ROCKAWAY HUSBAND CHARGED WITH MURDER IN STABBING DEATH OF WIFE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Manuel Villar, 50, is charged with murder in the stabbing death of his 43-year-old wife early yesterday morning in Far Rockaway, Queens. After the stabbing, the defendant allegedly exited the apartment, leaving the dying woman in the bedroom, and then called 911 while on the run. District…
QUEENS MAN ARRAIGNED ON INDICTMENT FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ASSAULT CHARGES FOR SHOOTING OF FORMER SUNY BUFFALO FOOTBALL PLAYER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jeffrey Thurston has been arraigned on an indictment handed up by a Queens County grand jury charging the defendant with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes for allegedly shooting a former student athlete outside a deli on Springfield Boulevard in July. The defendant…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED ON HATE CRIME CHARGES FOR LABOR DAY STABBING DEATH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens County grand jury has indicted James Williams, 51, on murder as a hate crime and other charges for allegedly stabbing to death a 20-year-old Brooklyn man on Labor Day. The defendant is accused of using a homophobic slur before plunging a knife into the victim’s…
QUEENS FOURSOME INDICTED ON SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES FOR FORCING THREE TEENAGE GIRLS INTO PROSTITUTION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Tyrone Miles, Khalil Fryer, and Luvasia Rodriguez have all been indicted and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on sex trafficking, kidnapping and other charges for allegedly forcing one or more female victims to have sex with strangers for cash. A Queens County grand jury handed up two…
WOMAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME FOR THROWING BOTTLE AT FEMALE JOGGER AND CALLING HER THE N-WORD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Lorena Delaguna, 53, has been charged with attempted assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment for allegedly throwing a bottle at a passing jogger and using a racial epithet on August 17, 2020 in Woodside, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “In addition to allegedly yelling the…
QUEENS CONTRACTOR AND HIS BUSINESS PLEAD GUILTY TO VIOLATING PREVAILING WAGE LABOR LAWS AND STEALING MORE THAN $1.5 MILLION FROM WORKERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by the New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett, announced today that Jagdeep Deol, 36, and his business Laser Electrical Contracting Inc. have pleaded guilty to a labor law violation on paying a prevailing wage to workers. The business owner pocketed more than $1.5 million that should…
BRONX MAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES FOR HIT-AND-RUN BOX TRUCK CRASH THAT KILLED NEW FATHER IN MIDDLE VILLAGE THIS SUMMER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Ramon Pena, 37, was indicted by a Queens County grand jury on murder charges and other crimes for allegedly causing a deadly collision on Metropolitan Avenue at the Metro Mall exit in Middle Village, Queens on July 30, 2020. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant in this…
