Press Releases
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN BLUDGEONING DEATH OF ELDERLY NEIGHBOR
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Yomar Gonzalez, 38, has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on murder and other charges for allegedly beating his 71-year-old neighbor to death with a metal rod on March 17, 2021. District Attorney Katz said, “This was a senseless act of…
MAIL CARRIER CHARGED WITH STEALING CREDIT CARD FROM MAIL ROUTE AND USING IT TO PAY FOR $8,000 PLASTIC SURGERY Defendant Faces Up to Seven Years in Prison if Convicted
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Shakera Small, a United States Postal Service mail carrier, has been charged with identity theft, grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly using a credit card stolen from her postal route. The woman is accused of using that charge card to pay for an $8,000 surgical procedure…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ HOSTS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION
NEWS ADVISORY Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz presents a special celebration in honor of Women’s History Month. This virtual event takes place today, Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 4 p.m. via Zoom. The District Attorney will honor several women of the Queens community and this livestreamed event will also feature live performances. The Keynote…
QUEENS SOCCER COACH INDICTED FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING STUDENT OVER FIVE YEAR PERIOD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Jose Claros, 57, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on course of sexual conduct against a child, sex abuse and other charges for assaulting a 12-year-old student from 2013 through 2018 in his Richmond Hill, Queens, residence….
QUEENS DA MELINDA KATZ ASKS COURT TO DISMISS HUNDREDS OF CASES AGAINST PEOPLE CHARGED WITH LOITERING FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROSTITUTION AND RELATED CHARGES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz appeared in Court today to request the dismissal of nearly 700 cases where people were detained, arrested and charged with loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution and prostitution-related crimes. Since taking office, DA Katz did not prosecute a single person charged with the vague loitering law that far…
MEDIA ADVISORY: DA MELINDA KATZ REQUEST DISMISSAL OF HUNDREDS OF CASES
NEWS ADVISORY Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz will personally request the Court dismiss hundreds of cases for defendants currently charged with loitering for the purpose of prostitution and related charges tomorrow, Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. before Queens Acting Supreme Court Justice Toko Serita. Even before becoming the District Attorney for Queens…
REHAB CENTER SOCIAL WORKER CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY FOR STEALING NEARLY $150,000 FROM 90-YEAR-OLD PATIENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Olivia Gordon, 28, has been charged with grand larceny, identity theft and other crimes for allegedly stealing nearly $150,000 from an elderly patient at a rehab center where she worked as the Director of Social Services in 2019. The defendant also is accused of setting things in…
QUEENS RESIDENT CHARGED WITH MURDER IN SHOOTING DEATH OF 33-YEAR-OLD MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Mark Watson, 24, has been charged with murder and other crimes in the shooting death of a 33-year-old man in Hollis, Queens, Tuesday evening. District Attorney Katz said, “A game of dice turned deadly after the defendant allegedly robbed and shot the victim to death. This…
FIFTH INDICTED DEFENDANT APPREHENDED AND CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY IN MILLION DOLLAR LUXURY GOODS HEIST FROM JFK AIRPORT IN 2020
Crew Allegedly Stole Millions of Dollars in Gucci, Chanel and Prada Merchandise; Defendant Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison if Convicted
QUEENS COUPLE INDICTED ON SEX TRAFFICKING AND OTHER CHARGES FOR TRANSPORTING WOMEN FROM KOREA AND FORCING THEM INTO PROSTITUTION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Jung Ja Ornstein, 62, and Eric Ornstein, 49, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on sex trafficking charges and other crimes for allegedly bringing two female victims from Korea and coercing them to…
THREE PROFESSIONAL TAX PREPARERS IN QUEENS CHARGED WITH FRAUD FOR FILING FALSE RETURNS THAT CHEATED CITY AND STATE
Defendants Worked at Two Unrelated Businesses in Flushing and Woodside; The Accused Allegedly Forged Signatures and Outright Lied on Returns to Downplay Tax Liability for Clients Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Michael R. Schmidt, today announce that Yachun Lin of ETS Tax Services and Nayib…
SCAM AWARENESS AND FRAUD PROTECTION WEBINAR MEDIA ADVISORY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is sponsoring a Scam Awareness and Fraud Protection virtual event tomorrow, Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The event will include several legal experts from the District Attorney’s Office and partner tax advocates and specialists. The program will also be available in Spanish and Mandarin. The Queens…
QUEENS COUNTY GRAND JURY INDICTS CAR WASH EMPLOYEE ON VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER AND DRUNK DRIVING CHARGES IN DEATH OF WOMAN STRUCK WHILE WALKING TO HER JUST-CLEANED AUTO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens County grand jury has indicted Edwin Vargas Tabares, 43, who was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on vehicular manslaughter and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol charges. The defendant was allegedly intoxicated while working at an Ozone Park car wash business and struck…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION WITH DEFENSE TO VACATE CONVICTIONS IN 1996 DOUBLE MURDER CASE BASED ON FAILURE TO DISCLOSE EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE
Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the filing of a joint motion with defense counsel to vacate the convictions of George Bell, Gary Johnson, and Rohan Bolt, who were convicted of the December 21, 1996, murders of Ira “Mike” Epstein and NYPD Police Officer Charles Davis in the course of robbing Mr. Epstein’s…
GRAND JURY INDICTS QUEENS RESIDENT IN HIT AND RUN CRASH THAT KILLED GOOD SAMARITAN WHO STOPPED TO HELP MAN HAVING CAR TROUBLE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Kevin Drawhorne, 27, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on criminally negligent homicide charges and other crimes for allegedly hitting and killing one man and injuring another on January 29, 2021. The victim was a Good Samaritan who had…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH STEALING $11,000 IN TEXT MESSAGE SCAM TO DECEASED MAN’S SISTER IN IRELAND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Frederick Gilbert, 53, has been charged with grand larceny, identity theft and other crimes for allegedly stealing $11,000 from a woman in Ireland by using her dead brother’s cell phone to convince her he was her sibling – and then repeatedly requesting she send him money in…
QUEENS HOME HEALTH AIDE CHARGED WITH STEALING NEARLY $100,000 FROM LEGALLY BLIND 89-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
Defendant Allegedly Duped Victim into Signing Checks That Greatly Exceeded Weekly Pay; Accused Faces Up to 15 Years in Prison if Convicted Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Sita Saunders, 61, has been charged with grand larceny, identity theft and other crimes for allegedly siphoning nearly $100,000 from her legally blind, 89-year-old patient’s…
CAR WASH EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AND DRUNK DRIVING IN DEATH OF WOMAN STRUCK WHILE WALKING TO HER JUST-CLEANED AUTO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Edwin Vargas, 43, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving for allegedly being intoxicated while working at an Ozone Park car wash business and striking a woman and killing her as he drove a vehicle off the cleaning rack Monday afternoon. District Attorney Katz said,…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ HOSTS LUNAR NEW YEAR VIRTUAL EVENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is sponsoring a Lunar New Year virtual event this Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The District Attorney will honor several community leaders and the livestreamed event will also feature live cultural performances. Lunar New Year 2021- the Year of the Ox -will be celebrated around the…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE SEIZES 1.7 MILLION PIECES OF COUNTERFEIT PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT FROM WAREHOUSE; BROOKLYN MAN CHARGED WITH FELONY FOR POSSESSING BOGUS PPE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that an investigation by her Office’s Frauds Bureau resulted in the seizure of 1.7 million counterfeit 3M N95 respirator masks from a Long Island City warehouse before they could be distributed to the public. Detectives from the Queens District Attorney’s Office arrested Zhi Zeng, 33, of Dyker Heights,…
