Press Releases
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN STABBING DEATH OF WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Edwin Sarmiento, 31, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for stabbing and killing a 30-year-old woman in February 2020. The defendant pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant showed no mercy when he grabbed multiple knives and plunged them into…
TRIO BUSTED IN HOME FORECLOSURE SCAM; DEFENDANTS ALLEGEDLY STOLE NEARLY $400,000 USING FORGED DOCUMENTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jonathan Marcus, Vincent Longobardi and Edward Doran – as well as East Coast Money Finders, Inc. – have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court. The trio and the company are all charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property,…
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…
CONNECTICUT MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER EXTRADITED FROM LOS ANGELES TO FACE CHARGES FOR 2018 TINDER DATE STRANGULATION DEATH OF QUEENS NURSE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Danueal Drayton, 31, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and following his extradition to New York, was arraigned today in Queens Supreme Court. The defendant is charged with murder, sexual misconduct, grand larceny and other crimes for the shocking strangulation death of a 29-year-old…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS IN PRISON IN STABBING DEATH OF HIS WIFE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jawad Hussain, 60, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for fatally stabbing his wife and injuring his daughter in January 2019. District Attorney Katz said, “In pleading guilty, the defendant has now admitted to the stabbing rampage that killed his wife. This brutal outburst also…
QUEENS GRAND JURY INDICTS DEFENDANT ON MURDER CHARGES IN DEATH OF MAN SHOT THROUGH WALL DURING BOTCHED DRUG HEIST
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Joseph Barahona, 19, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder, burglary and attempted robbery charges. The defendant – along with two others – allegedly tried to steal marijuana from an 18-year-old man by holding him at gunpoint in…
MANHATTAN MAN INDICTED ON ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES FOR BRUTAL BLUDGEONING ATTACK ON WOMAN IN SUBWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that William Blount, 57, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on attempted murder, assault and other charges. The defendant allegedly attacked a woman as she entered the subway – kicking her down the stairs and hammering her in the head…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON IN DEATH OF WOMAN HIT BY STRAY BULLET IN SEPTEMBER 2020
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Issam Elabbar, 32, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for firing an illegal gun in the middle of the night that killed a woman. The victim, a mother of three, was struck when the bullet pierced a window of her apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens,…
FORMER COLLEGE LACROSSE PLAYER CONVICTED AT TRIAL OF ASSAULT FOR STABBING TEAMMATE IN 2019
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Matthew Stockfeder, 23, has been convicted by a jury for assault in the first degree. The defendant and the victim had been former lacrosse teammates at St. John’s University. On a fall evening in 2019, an argument between the two escalated to physical violence leading to the…
QUEENS MAN CONVICTED AT TRIAL OF MURDER IN BOTCHED SOUTH RICHMOND HILL HOME INVASION IN 2016
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Kristof Williams, 27, has been convicted at trial of murder in the second degree and other crimes for his participation in a botched home invasion that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man. The victim was stabbed to death when the defendant and others broke into…
OZONE PARK WOMAN AND JUVENILE CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR KNIFE ATTACK NEAR JOHN ADAMS HIGH SCHOOL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jamia Dean, 20, and a sixteen-year-old juvenile have been charged with attempted murder, assault and other crimes for allegedly hitting and stabbing two teenagers on Rockaway Boulevard on March 15, 2022. The teens sought refuge inside John Adams High School. District Attorney Katz said, “This defendant and…
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 BUSTED FOR BOGUS UNION MEMBERSHIP CASH CON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jofre Ortega, 54, has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly conning people eager to join the Mason Tenders Local 79 Union that he offered memberships for cash – even though he did not have the authority to do so. District Attorney Katz said,…
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…
MARYLAND RESIDENT CHARGED WITH 336 COUNTS OF CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A WEAPON AND OTHER CRIMES IN LARGEST BUST OF “GHOST GUN” KITS IN NEW YORK STATE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Wenli Bai, 57, has been charged with 129 counts of criminal possession of a weapon and hundreds of additional counts for other crimes after a long-term investigation conducted by the District Attorney’s Office. Recovered were enough parts to build 74 ghost guns, 129 high-capacity magazines and…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN STABBING DEATH OF HIS WIFE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jawad Hussain, 60, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault for the January 2019 fatal stabbing of his wife and for injuring his daughter during the attack. District Attorney Katz said, “In pleading guilty, the defendant has now admitted to the stabbing rampage that killed his wife….
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 2012 KILLING OF VICTIM WHOSE BODY WAS FOUND AMID BEACH DEBRIS FOLLOWING HURRICANE SANDY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Thyron Aycock, 48, has been sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison following his conviction after trial of murder in the beating death of a man in 2012. The victim’s remains were discovered by park employees as they cleared garbage and debris from the damaged sand dunes on…
