Press Releases
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…
QUEENS WOMAN INDICTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING TRANSGENDER VICTIM ON ROOSEVELT AVENUE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Valezka Echeverrias was arraigned on an indictment charging her with sex trafficking and other crimes for allegedly forcing a transgender woman to engage in prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue and to pay the defendant a weekly sum of money. After the victim stated that she wanted to stop engaging…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH DEFRAUDING FEDERAL DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM OF MORE THAN $240,000 WITH BOGUS CLAIMS OF ECONOMIC HARM DUE TO COVID-19
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Humayun Kabir has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in pandemic relief funds intended to help workers and small business owners suffering hardship due to COVID-19. The defendant allegedly applied for a federal Payroll Protection Program loan and an Economic…
FDNY EMT CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER IN UNPROVOKED SHOOTING OF 36-YEAR-OLD MAN IN ASTORIA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Isaiah Keller, an FDNY emergency medical technician, was charged with attempted murder, assault and weapon possession for the shooting of a 36-year-old man on a residential block in Astoria in the early morning of August 31. The defendant and victim did not know one another. District Attorney Katz…
THREE ALLEGED SQUATTERS INDICTED FOR ILLEGALLY OCCUPYING ST. ALBANS HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that True Jackson, Saliam Sudler, and Shania Outar have been indicted on charges of burglary, criminal trespass and other crimes for illegally occupying a single-family home in St. Albans. The rightful owner’s family noticed unauthorized activity in the home this spring after the property was vacated in early 2024….
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN ARSON FIRE THAT SERIOUSLY INJURED TWO OCCUPANTS OF SOUTH OZONE PARK HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Evan Person pleaded guilty to arson in the second degree for setting fire to cars in South Ozone Park and entering a home where he set a blaze that critically injured two of its occupants. District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant is a serial arsonist who set fire…
DA KATZ ANNOUNCES TAKEDOWN OF MAJOR NETWORK CABLE THEFT OPERATION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kong Gao has been charged with fraudulent making of an electronic access device and criminal possession of forgery devices in connection to a large-scale theft of network cable streaming and Wi-Fi services in Flushing and Whitestone. Gao is accused of manufacturing approximately 200 fraudulent modem devices embedded with…
QUEENS MAN CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER IN SHOOTING OF NYPD OFFICER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Devin Spraggins was convicted of attempted murder in the first degree for shooting NYPD Detective Brett Boller after an altercation in April 2023. The rookie officer and his partner, Officer Anthony Rock, were on routine patrol in the Jamaica business district when they confronted Spraggins after he assaulted…
FAR ROCKAWAY MAN SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR FATAL SHOOTING IN 2021
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Waturi Johnson was sentenced today to 24 years to life in prison for the shooting death of Uriah Richardson, a father of three gunned down in midday outside of the Mott Avenue A train station in Far Rockaway in 2021. The two men did not know one another….
BROOKLYN MAN CHARGED WITH STAGING CAR CRASH ON BELT PARKWAY IN ROSEDALE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Maikel Martinez was charged with staging a motor vehicle accident, reckless endangerment and other crimes after being in a car that allegedly cut off another driver on the Belt Parkway, forcing that driver to come to a stop. The car the defendant was in then reversed into…
THREE MEN CHARGED WITH CANNABIS POSSESSION AFTER MORE THAN 850 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA FOUND IN A LONG ISLAND CITY APARTMENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Cesar Egas Nagua, Michel Garcia Rodriguez and Alain Prieto Romero were charged with criminal possession of cannabis after a search warrant uncovered more than 850 pounds of cannabis flower with a street value in excess of $100,000 in a Long Island City apartment. District Attorney Katz said: “A…
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