Press Releases
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…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO STABBING TO DEATH HIS SON-IN-LAW IN 2019
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Marco Ortiz, 48, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to manslaughter in the first degree. The defendant stabbed to death his daughter’s husband in January 2019 in the Briarwood, Queens, home they all shared. District Attorney Katz said, “This was…
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 SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER; DEFENDANT STABBED TWO MEN IN SOUTH OZONE PARK IN 2017
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Terrence Harry, 40, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted at trial of attempted murder. The defendant stabbed two men inside a residential garage in South Ozone Park in September 2017. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant’s unprovoked knife attack could have ended…
FOUR QUEENS RESIDENTS CHARGED WITH POSSESSING ARSENALS OF ILLEGAL “GHOST” GUNS IN BAYSIDE AND FLUSHING HOMES (PHOTOS)
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by NYPD Chief of Intelligence Thomas Galati and Inspector Courtney Nilan, today announced that four Queens residents have been arrested stemming from the seizure of dozens of firearms, including 27 “ghost” guns, assault weapons, firearm accessories, thousands of rounds of ammunition and other items recovered during four early…
QUEENS DEFENDANT CONVICTED AT TRIAL FOR RAPE OF HOUSEGUEST IN 2019
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Ahmed Shamim, 35, has been convicted at trial for the rape of a woman in Jackson Heights, Queens, in January 2019. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant violated the trust of a woman who was a guest in his home. After weighing all the evidence presented at…
MANHATTAN MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR BRUTAL ATTACK ON WOMAN IN SUBWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that William Blount, 57, has been charged with attempted murder, assault and other crimes for the vicious beating of a woman as she entered a Queens subway station on Thursday, February 24, 2022. A second individual is also charged with using the victim’s credit card hours after the…
QUEENS MAN AND WOMAN INDICTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING HOMELESS WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Adam “Damian” Lee, 29, and Ida Copeland, 35, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and other crimes for allegedly forcing a homeless woman into prostitution and setting up sex dates in various hotels –…
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…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH THREATENING TO KILL WIFE AT COHEN CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER AND POSSESSING “GHOST GUNS”
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Thomas Saxton, 34, has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, endangering the welfare of a child and other crimes. The defendant allegedly threatened to shoot his estranged wife while she held their child inside Cohen Children’s Medical Center yesterday afternoon. Responding police stopped the…
DA MELINDA KATZ HOSTS BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION WITH HONORS TO NOTABLE QUEENS COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz hosted a celebratory program in honor of Black History Month at the Black Spectrum Theater on February 16, 2022. The program included live music and dance performances from local artists, special guest remarks from City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and a keynote address by National Action Network founder, Reverend Al…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 26 1/3 YEARS-TO-LIFE IN PRISON FOR 2019 MURDER OF HIS PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Anthony Hobson, 51, has been sentenced to 26 1/3 years-to-life in prison for the February 2019 knife attack on his girlfriend, Jennifer Irigoyen, in Ridgewood, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “Today’s sentence brings the defendant to justice for a brutal crime. Inside the stairwell of her apartment…
TWO QUEENS RESIDENTS INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES AND OTHER CRIMES FOR DRUNK DRIVING, DRAG RACING CRASH THAT KILLED HOSPITAL WORKER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Alamin Ahmed and Mir Fahmid, both of Jamaica, Queens, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder, manslaughter and other charges. District Attorney Katz said, “You cannot use our city streets as if they were the Daytona Speedway or…
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS IN PRISON IN 2018 MEMORIAL DAY SHOOTING DEATH OF 27-YEAR-OLD MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Denzel Floyd, 24, has been sentenced by the Court to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for the May 2018 shooting death of a 27-year-old man in Ozone Park. District Attorney Katz said, “The sentencing of this defendant brings resolution to this case but…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 17 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN 2018 SHOOTING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Shahid Burton, 21, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 29-year-old man in March 2018. The defendant – who was on the run after the homicide – was apprehended by transit police after he allegedly…
TWO MEN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES IN STABBING DEATH OF MAN; ONE DEFENDANT ALSO INDICTED FOR SECOND KILLING JUST TWO DAYS LATER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Raymond Kenner, 22, and Alexander Stephens, 31, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder charges in the stabbing death of a man killed in Hollis, Queens, on December 21, 2021. Defendant Kenner has additionally been indicted for a second…
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