Press Releases
QUEENS RESIDENT CHARGED WITH MURDER IN STABBING DEATH OF MAN WHO TRIED TO BREAK UP FIGHT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens resident has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing death of a 43-year-old man, who intervened when the defendant became embroiled in a fight with a property owner on April 13, 2020. District Attorney Katz said, “The victim in this case was allegedly stabbed…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ON TODAY’S COURT PROCEEDINGS TO RELEASE RIKERS INMATES
As the highly-contagious coronavirus spreads throughout our City and communities, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and the Office’s senior staff are carefully reviewing many requests for defendants to be immediately released from the City’s jails. The Office collaborates with defense attorneys, the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Corrections to identify those whose release would…
STATEMENT OF QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ON CORONAVIRUS-INSPIRED HATE CRIMES
Queens is arguably the most diverse county in the world and home to the largest immigrant population in New York City. This diversity is our strength and makes Queens County an amazing place to live, work and visit. We are the World’s Borough and hate crimes have no place here. Crimes motivated by hate are…
STATEMENT OF QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ
This morning, I was informed that I have tested positive for COVID-19. I had been exposed on Wednesday, March 17th and informed of the exposure on Saturday March 21st. I have been sheltering in place before and since that exposure, and while I was mildly symptomatic for a time I have not experienced any symptoms…
QUEENS COUNTY GRAND JURY INDICTS NYPD HIGHWAY OFFICER CHARGING HIM WITH POSSESSING AND PROMOTING A SEXUAL PERFORMANCE BY A CHILD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, with New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, announced today that a 35-year-old former highway officer with the NYPD has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing a sexual performance by a child. The officer allegedly used…
BP LEE, DA KATZ MESSAGE TO SURVIVORS DURING “STAY AT HOME” URGE
QUEENS, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee affirmed the borough’s unwavering commitment to protecting and serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child and elder abuse, in light of the urge for all non- essential workers and their families to “Stay At Home” during the rapidly-developing COVID-19…
HOUSE HUNTER HELPER WHO RAPED WOMAN LOOKING FOR HOME SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN PRISON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a Pennsylvania resident has been sentenced to 7 years in prison after a jury found the defendant guilty of rape. The defendant helped the victim find a place to live, aided her in moving in and then forcibly raped her in a Richmond Hill basement apartment in…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR TRYING TO KILL TRANSGENDER GIRLFRIEND WHEN SHE REFUSED TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 30-year-old Cambria Heights man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for trying to kill his transgender girlfriend whom he was pimping out. The victim refused to continue selling sex to strangers to fill his wallet with cash when he beat and slashed her in April of…
DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ CO-HOSTS BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION WITH AWARDS FOR NOTABLE QUEENS LEADERS AND A TRIBUTE TO THE OFFICE’S FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN ASSISTANT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee, hosted a celebration of Black History Month yesterday evening in the Helen Marshall Cultural Center in Borough Hall with music, dances and awards to several outstanding individuals who exemplify the best of Queens, including Karlton Jarrett, an assistant district attorney with the…
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ABUSE FOR PLACING AUTISTIC STUDENT’S HANDS ON HIS GENITALS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 48-year-old social studies teacher at an elementary school in Oakland Gardens, Queens has been charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly physically directing a child with autism to touch his genitals and buttocks in class on Wednesday, February 26, 2020….
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR POSSESSING CHILD SEX ABUSE IMAGES OF BOYS AS YOUNG AS 6
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 57-year-old Queens resident has been sentenced to 6 months in jail after pleading guilty to possessing a sexual performance by a child. The defendant stored numerous images of boys – as young as 6 – engaging in various sexual acts with other underage children. The images…
ESTRANGED HUSBAND SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR STABBING WIFE TO DEATH IN JACKSON HEIGHTS NAIL SALON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens man has been sentenced to prison for manslaughter in the stabbing death of his estranged wife inside of a Jackson Heights nail salon during the early evening hours in August of 2019. The defendant entered the salon – where the victim worked – and repeatedly…
ST. ALBANS BIKER SENTENCED TO PRISON TERM IN 2018 ROAD RAGE SHOOTING DEATH OF OFF-DUTY CORRECTIONS OFFICER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 31-year-old St. Albans man has been sentenced to prison for [23] years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for the September 2018 road rage shooting that killed a 27-year-old, off-duty corrections officer in South Richmond Hill, Queens. Queens District Attorney Melinda…
FAR ROCKAWAY MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SEXUAL CONTACT WITH 10-YEAR-OLD CHILD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 40-year-old Far Rockaway man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted at trial for course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree. This law was authored by then-Assemblywoman Melinda Katz in 1996, who wanted to make sure pedophiles were…
BAR-HOPPING BROOKLYN RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR KILLING MAN WHO INSULTED FEMALE FRIENDS IN 2016
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 27-year-old Brooklyn resident has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter and other crimes for shooting and killing a man following a dispute on Steinway Street in July of 2016. The early morning dust up was sparked when someone slung insults…
RIDGEWOOD MAN FOUND GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER FOR KILLING FEMALE ROOMMATE FOLLOWING BENCH TRIAL IN QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 29-year-old Ridgewood resident has been convicted of manslaughter in the stabbing death of his female roommate, whom he killed in the Ridgewood, Queens apartment they shared in September of 2016. District Attorney Katz said, “This was a horribly disturbing case. The defendant returned to the apartment…
EAST ELMHURST MAN INDICTED ON MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES FOR SHOVING 71-YEAR-OLD MAN DOWN STOOP STAIRS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a Queens County grand jury has indicted a 22-year-old East Elmhurst man on manslaughter and assault charges for a deadly push that sent the elderly victim flying down the front steps of a two-story house on 102nd Street in Queens last month. The victim’s head slammed into…
BASKETBALL COACH CONVICTED AT TRIAL OF ASSAULT IN ONE-PUNCH DEATH OF MAN VISITING QUEENS FOR WEDDING IN 2018
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 37-year-old basketball coach from North Carolina has been found guilty of a misdemeanor assault at trial for punching a man, who later died. The defendant and the victim encountered each other in Long Island City early in the morning in August of 2018. District Attorney Katz…
ARRAIGNMENT UPDATE: RICHMOND HILL MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER IN DEATH OF 92-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
Defendant Reeaz Khan, 21, of 134th Street in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens was arraigned today on an indictment before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder charging him with 3-counts of murder in the second degree, 1-count of manslaughter in the first degree, 1-count of attempted rape in the first degree, 1-count of…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SEX TRAFFICKING FOR FORCING 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL INTO PROSTITUTION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 22-year-old Queens resident has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking for forcing a then-16-year-old girl into prostitution. In May and June of 2018, the defendant coerced the victim into having sex with strangers for money. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant, whose street name is Gun Play,…
