Press Releases
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF JAMAICA PAWN SHOP OWNER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rodolfo Lopez-Portillo, 47, has been charged with murder and other crimes for the death of a 60-year-old pawn shop owner. The defendant allegedly struck the victim multiple times with a blunt object at a Jamaica Avenue pawn shop business in March 2022. District Attorney Katz said, “As…
TWO DEFENDANTS SENTENCED TO LENGTHY PRISON TERMS FOR GUNNING DOWN VICTIM IN BODEGA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that 32-year-old Fabian DeJesus-Garcia has been sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison after being convicted at trial of killing a man in a bodega in Jackson Heights, Queens. Second defendant, Gamaliel Desiderio-Sanchez, also 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the…
MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN 2019 SEXUAL ATTACK OF ELDERLY QUEENS WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rodrigo Escamilla, 28, has pleaded guilty to criminal sex act for the 2019 attack on a 74-year-old Queens woman that took place inside the victim’s Corona apartment. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant viciously violated an elderly woman in a place that is supposed to be her…
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS-TO-LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDER DURING BOTCHED SOUTH RICHMOND HILL HOME INVASION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Kristof Williams, 27, has been sentenced to 16 years-to-life in prison after being convicted at trial of murder and other crimes for his role in the death of a 20-year-old man. The victim was killed during a home invasion in South Richmond Hill, Queens, in November 2016….
DEFENDANT FOUND GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER IN DEATH OF TWO MEN KILLED IN 2018 HOUSE FIRE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Kahj Woods, 20, has been found guilty at trial of two counts of manslaughter. The defendant set fire to a three-story building where he was visiting with a relative in December 2018. Two men – one an octogenarian and the other disabled – were unable to escape…
LONG ISLAND MAN INDICTED FOR STEALING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM EMPLOYEES IN KICKBACK SCHEME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber, announced today that Komal Singh, 52, has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks from employees working on a New York City School Construction Authority project at…
QUEENS MAN CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR 2020 GANG-RELATED SHOOTING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Otis Moore, 32, a reputed member of the Redfern Rowdy Gang, has been convicted by a jury of attempted murder and other crimes for a gang-related shooting on May 17, 2020 in the Dix McBride Apartments, also referred to as Pinkfern in Far Rockaway, Queens. District Attorney…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES OF FOREST HILLS WOMAN WHOSE BODY WAS DISCOVERED IN DUFFEL BAG NEAR PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that David Bonola, 44, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on murder and other charges for the killing of 51-year-old Orsolya Gaal. Mrs. Gaal’s body was discovered in a hockey sports bag on Metropolitan Avenue near Union Turnpike on…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN FAR ROCKAWAY SHOOTING DEATH IN DECEMBER 2019
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Michael Hall, 36, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the December 2019 fatal shooting of a 45-year-old man in front of a Far Rockaway deli. District Attorney Katz said, “As a result of his guilty plea, this defendant has taken responsibility for the December 2019 shooting that…
FORMER COLLEGE LACROSSE PLAYER SENTENCED TO 6 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER ASSAULT CONVICTION FOR STABBING TEAMMATE IN 2019
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Matthew Stockfeder, 24, has been sentenced to 6 years in prison following a jury conviction in March to assault charges. The defendant and the victim – both former lacrosse teammates at St. John’s University – argued during a dispute in October 2019. The confrontation led to the…
QUEENS RESIDENT CHARGED WITH MURDER IN SHOOTING DEATH OF WOMAN KILLED AT HER FRONT DOOR
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Giuseppe Canzani, 41, has been charged with murder and other charges in the shooting death of a 51-year-old woman killed in broad daylight. The victim was standing in her doorway when she was gunned down Wednesday afternoon. District Attorney Katz said, “As alleged, this defendant clearly has…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER IN SHOOTING OF DELIVERY DRIVER WHO BLOCKED TRAFFIC WITH TRUCK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jahsheen Osbourne, 21, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for the January 2020 unprovoked shooting of a UPS delivery driver in Woodside, Queens. The 15-year-veteran UPS worker was attempting to parallel park the vehicle as the defendant waited while in the passenger seat of a stolen Mercedes….
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…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOLLOWING JURY CONVICTION FOR THE MURDER OF HIS PROPERTY OWNER’S SON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Hopeton Prendergast, 66, has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after being convicted at trial of murder and other crimes. The defendant was a tenant who was being evicted from a shared residence on 220th Street in Queens Village. He fatally stabbed to death…
DEFENDANT FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER IN SHOOTING DEATH OF QUEENS MAN GUNNED DOWN IN 2011
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Troy Thomas, 36, has been found guilty at trial of murder. The defendant shot and killed a 20-year-old man outside a house party in December 2011. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant was on the run for approximately eight years before being brought back to Queens to…
BROOKLYN MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SEX TRAFFICKING RUNAWAY TEENAGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jordan Adderley, 32, has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a child and other crimes for profiting from the prostitution of a 16-year-old girl. The defendant taught the youngster how to trade sex for cash and drove her to various hotels, including the now-shuttered Umbrella Hotel 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…
MAIL FISHING-CHECK STEALING CREW DISMANTLED IN QUEENS; GRAND JURY INDICTS SIX INDIVIDUALS ON GRAND LARCENY, CONSPIRACY AND OTHER CHARGES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the New York City Police Department, announced today that six individuals have been charged in two separate indictments by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on enterprise corruption, grand larceny charges and other crimes. Between March and…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO FIRES SET IN APARTMENT BUILDING AND HOTEL AND POSSESSING ILLEGAL FIREARM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Troy Phillip, 28, has been sentenced to 8 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty last month to attempted arson and burglary in two incidents in 2020 and 2021. The defendant also pleaded guilty to carrying an illegal gun that was found during a search by police…
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…
