Press Releases
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH SEX TRAFFICKING TEENAGE GIRLS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 29-year-old Queens man has been charged with sex trafficking and other crimes for allegedly holding 2 teenage girls against their will at a Jamaica, Queens, hotel last month and forcing them to have sex with strangers for money and then pocketing the cash. The defendant was…
MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN STABBING DEATH OF LIVE-IN GIRLFRIEND INSIDE QUEENS HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens man has been formally charged with fatally stabbing his partner inside their Jackson Heights apartment after an early morning argument on Friday, July 3rd. The defendant then allegedly stabbed himself multiple times in the abdomen. He is currently in the hospital. District Attorney Katz said,…
BRONX RESIDENT CHARGED IN HIT-AND-RUN BOX TRUCK CRASH THAT KILLED MAN AND DAMAGED NUMEROUS VEHICLES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 37-year-old Bronx man has been charged with murder in the second degree and other crimes in connection with a deadly collision on Metropolitan Avenue at the Metro Mall exit in Middle Village, Queens Tuesday afternoon. A 25-year-old man lost his life as a result of the…
DA KATZ: RETIRED POLICE OFFICER WHO ALLEGEDLY FIRED SHOT INSIDE HOWARD BEACH RESTAURANT CHARGED WITH ASSAULT IN THE FIRST DEGREE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a retired police officer has been charged with assault in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly firing a gun inside a sushi restaurant in Howard Beach Tuesday evening during a verbal dispute with another patron. A stray shot hit an innocent bystander in the eatery….
LONG ISLAND MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING OF 7-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM HER FLUSHING HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 32-year-old Brentwood man has been charged with attempted kidnapping and other crimes for allegedly dragging a 7-year-old girl from her bed and out the front door of her home in a brazen abduction attempt Monday morning. The girl was saved when her family members heard her…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION WITH DEFENSE TO VACATE CONVICTION OF INNOCENT MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the filing of a joint motion to vacate the murder conviction of Samuel Brownridge, who was incarcerated for more than 25 years for a crime that he did not commit. Mr. Brownridge was convicted based on 2 eyewitness identifications. The motion filed today details new evidence that both…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ANNOUNCES THE OFFICE’S VIOLENT CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES BUREAU
District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the creation of a Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. This Bureau merges the Office’s former Narcotics Investigations Bureau and Gang Violence bureaus. The Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau will work diligently to suppress violent crime in Queens County by identifying and prosecuting drivers of violence engaged in organized criminal behavior, including…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ HOSTS BRAVE JUSTICE: INAUGURAL SUMMER INTERNSHIP FOR STUDENTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the start of her inaugural summer internship program titled Brave Justice. The internship kicked off this week with the students being welcomed to the Office by the DA and Chief Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Naiburg, via video conference. District Attorney Katz said, “We are very excited to have…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ LAUNCHES HATE CRIMES BUREAU
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced a dedicated Hate Crimes Bureau in her newly reorganized Felony Trial Division. This Bureau is one of the first in the nation committed exclusively to preventing, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. District Attorney Katz said, “We are the ‘World’s Borough’ with the most diverse population of any county…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO UP TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR KILLING FEMALE ROOMMATE IN RIDGEWOOD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 30-year-old Queens resident has been sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter in February. The defendant repeatedly stabbed his female roommate in the apartment they shared in Ridgewood in September of 2016. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant in…
Statement Regarding Chokeholds and Other Restraining Techniques
As we have seen recently with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and six years ago right here in New York City with the death of Eric Garner, the use of chokeholds and other holds or restraining techniques that can cut off the supply of oxygen to a person’s brain have an unacceptably high…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ INTRODUCES THE OFFICE’S MAJOR ECONOMIC CRIMES BUREAU
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the creation of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau in her newly reorganized Investigations Division. This Bureau combines the former Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau with components of the former Economics Crimes Bureau. This new crime fighting team will investigate and prosecute a broad array of large-scale financial crimes…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIMES FOR SHOOTING AT VICTIMS WHO WERE DRIVING IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a Queens man has been charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and other charges after he followed a vehicle that was driving in his neighborhood, then pulled out a gun and fired on the occupants of the car. District Attorney Katz said, “Public streets belong…
WHITESTONE MAN SEEN ON VIRAL VIDEOS ATTACKING BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERS WHILE WEARING 4-BLADE KNIFE CLAW CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER IN QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the arrest of a 54-year-old Queens man who was allegedly observed on viral videos attacking peaceful demonstrators on Tuesday afternoon in Whitestone, Queens. The nonviolent gathering on the overpass above the Cross Island Parkway turned into a frenzied scene with the defendant hopping out of his vehicle and…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR SHOOTING AT POLICE OFFICERS IN FAR ROCKAWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 21-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly firing at cops who sat in a patrol car in Far Rockaway Sunday night. The officers heard the shots just before the marked vehicle was jolted by bullets that…
STATEMENT OF QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ IN SUPPORT OF REPEALING THE LOITERING LAW IN REGARDS TO PROSTITUTION
District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced her support for a bill that would repeal the crime of loitering for the purposes of prostitution from the New York State Penal Law. Since taking office on January 1st the District Attorney has not charged or convicted a single individual for the crime of loitering for the purposes…
COVID-19 and the Opioid Epidemic
As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 – more commonly referred to as COVID-19 – continues to sweep across our country and particularly in our home borough of Queens, we must keep in mind that another epidemic was already on the rise and is still one of the greatest public health threats facing this generation. Opioid addiction…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ANNOUNCES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COLD CASE UNIT
District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the creation of the first Cold Case Unit in Queens County. This specialized Unit is dedicated to investigating and solving the borough’s oldest and most challenging unsolved homicide cases. The Queens District Attorney’s Office seeks to provide justice for all crime victims no matter when the crime was committed….
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ISSUES WARNINGS TO PARENTS ABOUT ONLINE CHILD PREDATORS
The spread of the coronavirus has brought new challenges and responsibilities to all the parents and guardians in Queens County. With schools closed many teens and preteens are finding more time to explore the internet on computers and phones. Teens are naturally curious about everything including their sexuality and in this very difficult time may…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND QUEENS BOROUGH PRESIDENT TO HOLD VIRTUAL MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE CEREMONY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee together will host a Virtual Memorial Day Observance Ceremony on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at www.queensbp.org from the borough home to the highest population of veterans in the City of New York. This is an online-only event, and everyone is…
