Press Releases
QUEENS MAN INDICTED IN VOTER FRAUD CASE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Abdul Rahman was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with falsifying business records, criminal possession of a forged instrument and other crimes for submitting falsified absentee ballot applications for the Democratic primary election in August 2022. District Attorney Katz said: “Every vote has to count. Election integrity…
TWO MEN INDICTED FOR MURDERING MOTORIST WITH HIS OWN VEHICLE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Aaron Mayers and Zahir Williams were indicted in connection with the murder of a Brooklyn man who was pummeled unconscious before being run over with his own car. According to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, 50-year-old Francisco Ortega survived a brutal beating by the defendants and two…
FAMILIAL DRUG TRAFFICKING RING DISMANTLED
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 11 defendants were arraigned on drug and gun charges following a 15-month investigation into a sprawling drug trafficking organization that reached from Jamaica to suburban Suffolk and Westchester Counties and involved several members of the same family. The investigation included a series of undercover drug buys inside a…
MAN INDICTED IN MURDER OF LANDLADY AFTER RENT DISPUTE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Davi Vidal was indicted for the murder of his landlord, whom he is accused of strangling in her East Elmhurst home after the two argued about rent. District Attorney Katz said: “We will seek justice for the brutally murdered victim and her loved ones. The defendant will have…
MOTORIST CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN DEATH OF 3-YEAR-OLD RUN OVER IN QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kevin Gomez was charged in an indictment today with manslaughter in the death of a 3-year-old boy run over in Flushing. Gomez is accused of hitting the child with his car and dragging him approximately 10 feet before driving away. District Attorney Katz said: “There are few threats…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH RAPE, ASSAULT, ROBBERY IN CRIME SPREE TARGETING SPAS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shahab Usman was charged with rape, assault and robbery for a crime spree targeting spas in South Richmond Hill that left a patron paralyzed from a gunshot. District Attorney Katz said: “We will be prosecuting the man we believe to be the violent predator responsible for a string…
TENANT CHARGED FOR SHOOTING BUILDING SUPERINTENDENT, FIRING AT RESPONDING POLICE OFFICERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that William Hernandez was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with attempted murder, kidnapping and assault for allegedly getting into a shootout with police officers after holding his building superintendent at gunpoint and then shooting him. District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant is charged with attempted murder in…
TEEN DRIVER AND PARENTS CHARGED IN GRUESOME COLLISION THAT KILLED 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that a teenage driver and his parents have been charged in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl who was a passenger in a car sheared in half after crashing at more than 100 miles an hour into a parked UPS truck on a busy Queens thoroughfare. The…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED FOR SHOOTING CORRECTION OFFICER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Mark Gibbs was sentenced today to 11 and a half years in prison for wounding an off-duty correction officer during a shootout in broad daylight on a busy Jamaica street in July 2022. His co-defendant, Sevaughn Green, is awaiting sentencing. District Attorney Katz said: “This kind of reckless…
FLUSHING PAIR CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF MORE THAN $600,000 WORTH OF DRUGS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Amanda Chen and Sheng Lin were charged with 17 counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia after a search of their Flushing penthouse apartment uncovered $654,000 worth of drugs and $37,502 in cash. District Attorney Katz said: “We will not allow…
LONG ISLAND MAN SENTENCED FOR MURDER OF PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Goey Charles was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison for the October 2020 murder of his pregnant girlfriend, 29-year-old Vanessa Pierre. Charles abandoned her body on the side of the Horace Harding Expressway in Bayside. District Attorney Katz said: “We asked for the maximum sentence…
BROOKLYN MAN SENTENCED FOR STEALING WIDOW’S HOME BY POSING AS HER SON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Christopher Williams was sentenced for stealing the home of an elderly widow by posing as her son, then selling the property and cashing in more than $200,000. Williams, 43, of Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn, was sentenced yesterday by Queens Supreme Court Justice Leigh K. Cheng to a term…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN CAR CRASH THAT KILLED NYPD OFFICER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kassun Brown pleaded guilty today to manslaughter for speeding through a stop sign in St. Albans and crashing into another vehicle, killing its driver, an off-duty NYPD officer, Michael Ellis. District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant’s recklessness prematurely took the life of a young NYPD officer. We welcome…
NEW JERSEY MAN CHARGED WITH INSURANCE FRAUD IN THEFT OF $2.6 MILLION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Liu was charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the theft of $2.6 million from a trust fund. Liu is accused of transferring the money to bank accounts he created using an alias and spending the cash to buy Cartier jewelry and other luxury items. District…
HOMEOWNER CHARGED IN TRIPLE HOMICIDE WITH STABBING TENANTS AND GIRLFRIEND TO DEATH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Daniel was charged today with murder in the stabbing deaths of two tenants and his girlfriend inside his St. Albans home. After the attack, Daniel turned himself in to police. District Attorney Katz said: “The bloody crime scene was the result of extraordinary brutality. In court, what…
SEXUAL PREDATOR SENTENCED TO 40 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR RAPING CHILD RELATIVES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jason Brown was sentenced today to 40 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting two child relatives beginning when the youngest of the girls was 8 years old and the oldest victim was 10. District Attorney Katz said: “This sexual predator stole the innocence of two young…
LONG ISLAND MAN CONVICTED OF MURDERING PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Goey Charles was convicted of murder in the October 2020 death of his pregnant girlfriend, 29-year-old Vanessa Pierre. He dumped her body on the side of the Horace Harding Expressway in Bayside and drove away. District Attorney Katz said: “We achieved justice for Vanessa. The verdict does not…
QUEENS DRIVER INDICTED IN DEATH OF ELDERLY PEDESTRIAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rony Zino was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 75-year-old woman he is accused of hitting with his truck as she was crossing a street in Ridgewood with the aid of a walker. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz…
STATEN ISLAND MAN CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY IN THEFT OF $1.4 MILLION FROM QUEENS APPAREL COMPANY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Glenn Jakers was charged with grand larceny, accused of siphoning $1.4 million from Eric Javits, Inc., a Long Island City apparel company where he worked as the controller. The money was used to buy luxury items, for personal expenses and to fund The G.O.A.T. bar on Staten Island….
MASSACHUSETTS MAN FACES ASSAULT AND FIREARMS CHARGES IN SHOOTING OF WOMAN OVER FAMILY DEBT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Minliang Zheng was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the cold-blooded shooting a 45-year-old woman, allegedly over her male relative’s unpaid financial debt. The defendant fled to Massachusetts and was extradited to New York this week. District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant shot the…
