Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 22-year-old East Elmhurst man has been charged with manslaughter and assault for a deadly push that sent an elderly man flying down the front steps of a two-story house on 102nd Street Sunday afternoon. The victim’s head slammed into the sidewalk and he died soon afterwards at a nearby hospital.

District Attorney Katz said, “This was a horrible incident captured on a Ring doorbell video. The victim was pushed with so much force it propelled the 71-year-old man over the stairs and onto the pavement, where he struck his head.”

The District Attorney’s Office identified the defendant as Alex Garces, 22, of 102nd Street (or 32nd Avenue) in the East Elmhurst section of Queens. The defendant was arraigned Tuesday morning before Queens Criminal Court Judge Angela Iannacci on a complaint charging him with first- and second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault. Judge Iannacci set bail $50,000 bond over $25,000 cash over $25,000 cash partially secured. Garces was ordered by the judge to return to court on January 17, 2020. If convicted, Garces faces up to 25 years in prison.

According to the charges, said DA Katz, at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 12, 2020, Mr. Edgar Moncayo can be seen on a front door video cam talking on a cell phone on the stoop of the home. The defendant, who was inside the home, briefly stepped out and then allegedly shoved the victim with such force that the 71-year-old man fell backward down the steps and onto the sidewalk below.

Continuing, said District Attorney Katz, according to the complaint the victim’s head hit the pavement so hard he suffered a traumatic brain injury. The elderly man was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Douglas Deotto of the New York City Police Department’s 115th Precinct.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Tara DiGregorio of the District Attorney’s Homicide Trials Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brad A. Leventhal, Bureau Chief and John W. Kosinski, Deputy Chief along with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Rosanne Howell, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Investigations Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Peter J. McCormack III, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.