News
FORMER FIREFIGHTER SENTENCED TO 4 TO 12 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FATAL COLLISION IN EAST ELMHURST
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that former FDNY firefighter Michael Pena was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for the death of 23-year-old Justin Diaz in February 2025. Pena, who was off duty, was driving while intoxicated when he sped through an intersection and slammed his Mercedes-Benz into Diaz’s car in East…
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 55 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR SHOOTING DEATH OF ACCOMPLICE ON CROSS BAY BOULEVARD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Richard Dixon was sentenced to 55 years to life in prison for the June 2022 murder of his accomplice, Raymond Francis, whom he fired upon after shooting past one of the individuals he was pursuing. The incident also resulted in multiple gunshot wounds to the two intended victims….
THREE DEFENDANTS SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR HOLDING FAMILY HOSTAGE IN 2024 DOUGLASTON HOME INVASION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ryan Dash, Brandon Dash and Oneil Thompson were sentenced for their roles in a violent home invasion robbery. The Dashes and defendant Jone Smith broke into a Douglaston family home in August 2024, brandished weapons and threatened the residents, including a child and an elderly couple, with demands…
DRIVER OF CAR IN SHOOTING DEATH OF NYPD DET. JONATHAN DILLER SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR ILLEGAL FIREARM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Lindy Jones was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a weapon possession charge for a 9 mm pistol found in the glove compartment of the car he was driving. Jones was behind the wheel of the vehicle on March 25, 2024, when his passenger,…
FIVE INDICTED FOR IDENTITY THEFT AND MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME IN FLUSHING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that five defendants were indicted by a grand jury and variously charged with mortgage fraud, identity theft, forgery and other crimes for falsifying documents to obtain a “cash-out” mortgage of more than $688,000 on a Flushing home that they did not own. The scheme was allegedly orchestrated by a…
NEW JERSEY MAN INDICTED ON VEHICULAR ASSAULT CHARGES FOR HIT-AND-RUN COLLISION THAT SERIOUSLY INJURED ELDERLY WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Anthony Lanno was indicted on assault, vehicular assault, leaving the scene and other charges for a hit-and-run collision that seriously injured a 71-year-old pedestrian in College Point in January. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, this defendant was speeding in his car while impaired by drugs when he…
QUEENS RESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY FOR FATAL SHOOTING IN FRONT OF JAMAICA CHURCH DURING FUNERAL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Joseph Gilbert Stevens has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for fatally shooting Richard Carter outside a Jamaica church while a funeral was taking place inside in April. District Attorney Katz said: “A sorrowful day turned even more tragic when this defendant made the cruel decision…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 1993 MURDER OF ESTRANGED WIFE AFTER RETRIAL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Michael Robinson was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the 1993 stabbing death of his estranged wife, 29-year-old Gwendolyn Samuels. Robinson went to the Bayside home where Samuels worked as a housekeeper and then attacked the pregnant woman, stabbing her multiple times. In 2023,…
DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR COLLISION THAT KILLED 23-YEAR-OLD MOTORIST ON NORTHERN BOULEVARD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that former FDNY firefighter Michael Pena pleaded guilty to manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter for driving while intoxicated and slamming his Mercedes-Benz into another motorist at the intersection of 107th Street and Northern Boulevard in East Elmhurst on February 26, 2025. The victim, 23-year-old Justin Diaz, was driving northbound on…
22 REPUTED GANG MEMBERS INDICTED FOR 11 SHOOTINGS IN SOUTHEAST QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Governor Kathy Hochul, together with New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, announced today that 22 reputed members of the Blitz Gang 4 gang have been indicted following a long-term investigation into multiple shootings in Southeast Queens dating back to 2023. The defendants are variously charged in…
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