Press Releases
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ON VANDALISM AT THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL IN ELMHURST PARK
The attack on this memorial, in this park, is a foul, criminal act. This is the only Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Queens that pays homage to all the fallen service men and women from this borough. It exists as a place where we can all reflect and pay tribute. I am proud to…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING OVER $50,000 IN APARTMENT RENTAL SCAM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Cesar Fernandez-Loor, 38, has pleaded guilty to grand larceny for stealing over $50,000 from numerous apartment-hunters. The defendant promised housing to applicants, then collected rental deposits without actually permitting anyone to move in. Many of the victims were immigrants living in Jackson Heights and surrounding neighborhoods. District…
LIVERY DRIVER CHARGED WITH 1996 RAPE OF PASSENGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Danny Stewart, 58, has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court for the 1996 rape of a female passenger. The defendant – a livery driver at the time – picked up the victim from her workplace in Jamaica and allegedly sexually assaulted…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES IN STABBING DEATH OF MOTHER’S HUSBAND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Andrew Hinton, 31, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder charges. District Attorney Katz said, “Domestic disputes can escalate all-too-quickly into violence. This one erupted into tragedy after the defendant allegedly stabbed his mother’s husband to…
QUEENS RESIDENT CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR STABBING MAN WITH KITCHEN KNIFE OVER PARKING SPACE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Anthony Thomas, 58, has been charged with attempted murder and assault in the stabbing of a motorist who was parking his car on the block. The defendant allegedly pulled out a kitchen knife and attacked the victim, stabbing him multiple times Sunday, May 23, 2021. District…
ARRAIGNMENT UPDATE: LONG ISLAND WOMAN INDICTED IN HIT-AND-RUN CRASH THAT KILLED NYPD POLICE OFFICER IN APRIL
Defendant Jessica Beauvais, 32, of Myrtle Avenue, in Hempstead, Long Island, was arraigned today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise on a 13-count indictment charging her with aggravated manslaughter in the second degree, manslaughter in the second degree, aggravated criminally negligent homicide, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, leaving the scene of an incident…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN HIGH-SPEED HIT AND RUN THAT KILLED 56-YEAR-OLD WORKER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that David Garcia, 28, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the July 2019 hit and run death of a Dunkin’ Donuts employee. District Attorney Katz said, “The destination for this defendant – who selfishly chose to disobey the rules of the road with fatal, tragic consequences – is…
GRAND JURY INDICTS SECOND MAN FOR MURDER IN STRAY BULLET KILLING OF YOUNG MOTHER IN ASTORIA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Benaiah Reid, 19, has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on murder charges and other crimes for the March 2021 shooting death of a 37-year-old mother of two children. The defendant was allegedly aiming to shoot a rival gang member. District…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH SPREE OF KNIFE ATTACKS, INCLUDING ONE THAT KILLED SUBWAY RIDER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Mark Albano, 34, has been charged with murder, attempted murder, attempted assault and other crimes for three separate stabbing incidents. The defendant allegedly killed a man at the Grand Avenue-Newton subway station on April 23, 2021 and was apprehended on Saturday, May 8th, following two knife attacks…
FOUR MEN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY IN BEATING DEATH OF WOMAN WHOSE BODY WAS FOUND STUFFED IN TRUNK OF CAR
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New York Peter C. Fitzhugh, announced today that Allan Lopez, Jose Sarmiento, Anander Henriquez and Rigel Yohairo have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder charges and other crimes for the beating…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SELLING DRUGS AND CARRYING AN ILLEGAL FIREARM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Chris Lee, 30, has pleaded guilty to gun possession and drug sale charges. The defendant was caught carrying an illegal firearm and was observed during a long-term investigation selling both guns and cocaine between August 2019 and January 2020. District Attorney Katz said, “There is probably no…
LONG ISLAND WOMAN INDICTED FOR KILLING NYPD POLICE OFFICER IN FATAL HIT AND RUN CRASH LAST MONTH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jessica Beauvais, 32, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury charging her with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and other crimes for allegedly driving while intoxicated and striking a New York City Highway Police Officer on the Long Island Expressway in the early morning hours of April…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON A HATE CRIME CHARGE FOR ATTACK ON ASIAN WOMAN OUTSIDE BAKERY IN FLUSHING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Patrick Mateo, 47, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury on a hate crime, aggravated harassment, and other charges for allegedly attacking a 52-year-old woman outside a bakery on February 16, 2021. The victim was shoved so hard she needed nearly a dozen stitches to…
QUEENS SON CHARGED WITH MURDER OF MOTHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Pushkar Sharma, 28, has been charged with the murder of his 65-year-old mother yesterday morning. District Attorney Katz said, “What should have been a celebration of Mother’s Day became a brutal, tragic nightmare for a Queens family. The defendant in this horrific case allegedly choked, punched, sexually…
LONG ISLAND MAN INDICTED ON ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES FOR RAMMING SUV INTO UNMARKED POLICE CAR THAT NEARLY STRUCK DETECTIVE STANDING OUTSIDE VEHICLE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Antoine Sheppard, 52, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on attempted murder, drug charges and other crimes for allegedly intentionally slamming into a police car and shoving it with so much force that it nearly struck a detective standing…
DA KATZ: TWO MEN INDICTED ON SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES FOR FORCING TEENAGE GIRLS INTO SEX INDUSTRY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Lawrence Winslow and Alan Velvett have been indicted twice by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on kidnapping, sex trafficking, rape and other charges. The defendants allegedly coerced a 15-year-old girl to trade sex for cash for three days in February 2021 in…
FORMER ACCOUNTANT FOR DEMO COMPANY CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT FOR CREATING FAKE EMPLOYEES, PUTTING THEM ON THE PAYROLL AND CASHING CHECKS FOR NEARLY $2 MILLION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Vedeyah Badal, 56, has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from her employer for a third of the 22 years she worked at an interior and exterior demolition company in Maspeth, Queens. Between 2012 and 2019, the defendant in…
LONG ISLAND WOMAN CHARGED WITH KILLING NYPD POLICE OFFICER IN FATAL HIT AND RUN CRASH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jessica Beauvais, 32, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and other crimes for allegedly driving while intoxicated and striking a New York City Highway Police Officer on the Long Island Expressway in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 27, 2021. District Attorney Katz…
QUEENS MOTHER CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE MURDER FOR KILLING INFANT TWINS; SIX-WEEK OLD BABIES FOUND DEAD IN APARTMENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Danezja Kilpatrick, 23, has been charged with murder in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes for allegedly killing her son and daughter. The 46-day-old babies were found dead in the mother’s apartment in Woodside, Queens, Thursday afternoon. District Attorney Katz said, “This…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER IN DEADLY CRASHES THAT KILLED PASSENGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Harpreet Singh, 20, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and other crimes for allegedly driving while intoxicated, running a red light and crashing into two vehicles. A male passenger in the defendant’s car was injured and killed in the early morning collisions on Wednesday,…
