Press Releases
DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR APRIL 2020 STRAY BULLET SHOOTING OF NYCHA WORKER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jerald Bethea has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Darrian Ramdial of Mount Vernon in April 2020. The victim was an innocent bystander at work in the Astoria Houses when he was hit by a bullet that the defendant…
TWO MEN CHARGED WITH PARTICIPATING IN INTERNATIONAL STOLEN MERCHANDISE RING AND DIVERTING PRODUCTS MEANT FOR LARGE BEAUTY RETAILERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Leudy Marte and Wilton Pena de Dios were charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and conspiracy for their roles in a large-scale retail theft and fencing operation based in Kew Gardens Hills. The pair allegedly diverted more than $1 million in products from Sol…
DA KATZ, NYPD AND SHERIFF’S OFFICE SHUTTER ILLEGAL CANNABIS SHOP IN FOREST HILLS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the closure of an unlicensed cannabis shop that operated at 103-17 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, blocks away from a public park and a junior high school. More than 30 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of approximately $38,200, were confiscated, as well hundreds of packages of cannabis…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING OF CHILD IN JULY 2021
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that James McGonagle was sentenced to seven years in prison for the attempted kidnapping of a 5-year-old boy, a stranger whom he grabbed off the sidewalk in Richmond Hill in July 2021. District Attorney Katz said, “James McGonagle attempted to abduct a 5-year-old child as the victim and…
BRONX WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR HIGH-SPEED CRASH THAT KILLED UBER PASSENGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Melissa Rodriguez-Lopez pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for killing a 62-year-old Uber passenger in May 2023. The defendant sped at 123 miles per hour on the Whitestone Expressway, caused a fatal roadway crash and then fled the scene with other racers. She later reported her…
COUPLE PLEAD GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER OF NEIGHBOR IN SUNNYSIDE PARKING SPOT ATTACK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that married couple Arturo Cuevas and Daisy Barrera pleaded guilty yesterday to attempted murder in the second degree for stabbing and battering their neighbor, a 28-year-old man, during a March 2023 confrontation in Sunnyside over a parking space. The couple had previously fought with the victim over a parking…
FOUR MEN INDICTED FOR ATTACKING HOMELESS SUBWAY PASSENGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that four men were indicted by a grand jury and variously charged with attempted gang assault, assault and robbery for allegedly stealing the belongings of a man who was asleep onboard a 7 subway train in December. The 69-year-old victim woke up as his bags were being stolen and…
FAR ROCKAWAY MAN INDICTED FOR DRIVING DRUNK WITH HIS CHILDREN IN THE CAR AND CRASHING INTO SCHOOL BUS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Junior Deslances was indicted for aggravated vehicular assault, aggravated driving while intoxicated, endangering the welfare of a child and other crimes for allegedly driving his three children to school while under the influence, speeding and then crossing a double yellow line and hitting a school bus head on….
ADVANCED DNA TESTING REVEALS IDENTITY OF VICTIM KILLED 33 YEARS AGO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that a female homicide victim, whose identity remained unknown for more than three decades, has now been identified as Judy Rodriguez by using advanced DNA testing. Rodriguez’s unidentified body, bound at the ankles with a cord and covered with a large wooden board, was discovered on August 25, 1991,…
FOUR MEN FACE FELONY CHARGES OF ASSAULT AND ROBBERY FOR ATTACKING HOMELESS SUBWAY PASSENGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that four men were arraigned today and variously charged with felony robbery, attempted gang assault and assault for allegedly stealing the belongings of a man who was asleep onboard a 7 subway train. The victim woke up as five individuals were stealing and attempting to maintain his belongings and…
KEW GARDENS HILLS MAN INDICTED FOR SHOOTING TWO MEN OVER PARKING DISPUTE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Alan Rodriguez was indicted for attempted murder, assault and weapon possession for allegedly shooting two men in a parking dispute outside his Kew Gardens Hills residence in November. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged in the indictment, the defendant shot two men over a parking dispute. This was…
DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATION DISMANTLED IN JAMAICA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the indictment of nine individuals charged with conspiracy, drug trafficking and other crimes following a two-year investigation into a narcotics organization based in Jamaica. The investigation, dubbed “Operation the Price is Right,” included a series of undercover drug buys and use of electronic surveillance. District Attorney Katz said: “The…
JURY CONVICTS QUEENS MAN OF ATTEMPTED MURDER AND AGGRAVATED ATTEMPTED ASSAULT FOR SHOOTING AT NYPD OFFICERS IN SOUTH OZONE PARK CONFRONTATION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Marco Mosquera has been convicted by a jury of attempted murder, attempted aggravated assault of a police officer, kidnapping and other charges for threatening his then wife, an off-duty police officer, with her own service weapon during a harrowing domestic violence incident in September 2021. Mosquera barricaded…
MAN SENTENCED TO UP TO 29 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR THE STRANGULATION DEATH OF A TRANSGENDER WOMAN IN 2010
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rasheen Everett has been sentenced to up to 29 years to life in prison for the murder of a 29-year-old transgender woman inside the victim’s Glendale apartment in 2010. Everett strangled the victim and poured bleach over her body in an attempt to hide evidence before stealing…
QUEENS VILLAGE MAN SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SHOOTING FRIEND OVER UNPAID DEBT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Hassan Dees was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the shooting death of his friend, 31-year-old Peter Johnson, after the two men argued over an unpaid debt on the day after Christmas in 2021. District Attorney Katz said: ““An argument over money turned deadly when the…
ELEVEN REPUTED GANG MEMBERS CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER, ATTEMPTED MURDER, ATTEMPTED ASSAULT, RECKLESS ENGAGEMENT AND GUN POSSESSION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that a three-and-a-half-year investigation into gang violence in Southeast Queens led to the indictment of 11 alleged members of “Whole Blocc Boys” and “Score On Anything” – two subsets of the “8 Trey Movin Crips” street gang. The defendants are variously charged with conspiracy, attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MURDER, SEX ASSAULT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Quiming Wan was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the November 2021 murder and sexual abuse of Jiaomei Zhou, a 29-year-old woman whose body he carried from his apartment before being stopped by building residents. A jury convicted the defendant following an October trial. District…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 39 YEARS TO LIFE FOR SHOOTING NYPD OFFICER IN JAMAICA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Devin Spraggins has been sentenced today to 39 years to life in prison for shooting NYPD Detective Brett Boller after an altercation. Spraggins was convicted by a jury last month. The rookie officer and his partner, Officer Anthony Rock, were on routine patrol in the Jamaica business district…
QUEENS WOMAN INDICTED FOR FIRST-DEGREE MURDER FOR SETTING FIRE THAT KILLED TWO PEOPLE IN JAMAICA GARAGE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Aliya Fakhri has been indicted on murder in the first degree and related charges for deliberately setting a deadly fire in the detached garage of a home in Jamaica killing her boyfriend, 35-year-old Edward Jacobs, and 33-year-old Anastasia Ettienne. Fakhri allegedly set the fire near the entrance of…
QUEENS HUSBAND AND WIFE CHARGED WITH OPERATING INTERNATIONAL STOLEN MERCHANDISE RING OUT OF KEW GARDENS HILLS HOME AND STOREFRONT IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Governor Kathy Hochul announced today that married couple Cristopher Guzman and Yvelisse Guzman Batista, as well as three co-defendants, were charged with operating a large-scale retail theft and fencing operation. The pair sold stolen merchandise including high-end makeup, perfume, beauty products, designer clothing and accessories, locally and abroad under…
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