News
WOMAN CHARGED WITH ARSON AND ASSAULT FOR SETTING FIRE AT THREE LOCATIONS IN MASPETH, THROWING A BRICK THROUGH A STOREFRONT WINDOW AND INJURING TWO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shaniqua Fort was charged with arson, assault, reckless endangerment and other crimes for allegedly setting fires at several storefront locations along Flushing and Grand Avenues in Maspeth during the evening of April 13. The defendant allegedly started a blaze that destroyed a Chinese restaurant and the apartments above…
SOUTH OZONE PARK MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER OF WIFE WHOSE REMAINS WERE FOUND IN SEPARATE LOCATIONS ALONG BROOKVILLE AND CROSS BAY BOULEVARDS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rupchand Simboo was indicted on charges of murder and tampering with evidence for the homicide of his 33-year-old wife, Salisha Ali. The victim’s beheaded and dismembered torso, wrapped in plastic and a moving blanket, was initially discovered by sanitation workers near 149th Avenue and Brookville Boulevard on September…
WOODSIDE MAN INDICTED ON FIRST DEGREE ASSAULT CHARGES FOR SLASHING TWO VICTIMS ON BROADWAY IN ASTORIA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Antonio Quinones was indicted and arraigned on charges of assault, attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon for attacking two people with a boxcutter outside of a fish market on Broadway in Astoria last month. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, this defendant took out a…
JACKSON HEIGHTS MAN SENTENCED TO 40 YEARS IN PRISON FOR THE KIDNAPPING AND RAPE OF MULTIPLE VICTIMS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Andres Portilla was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the kidnapping and rape of three young women including two minors. He brutally beat one teen and kept her captive in his car for two months, locking the girl in the trunk while he wasn’t there. Portilla pleaded…
HOLLIS MAN CONVICTED FOR FATAL BEATING OF PAWN SHOP OWNER DURING 2022 ROBBERY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rodolfo Lopez-Portillo was convicted by a jury of fatally beating Arasb Shoughi during a pawn store robbery in March 2022. The defendant sold two watches to the 60-year-old store owner and then violently attacked the victim with what appeared to be a metal pipe, striking the man repeatedly…
BAYSIDE WOMAN SENTENCED FOR PIG BUTCHERING SCAM THAT TARGETED VICTIMS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY; $2.5 MILLION IN RESTITUTION SECURED
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Tiffany Yang was sentenced today to 120 days in jail after paying a total of $2.5 million in restitution for her role in a pig butchering scam that impacted 13 victims across the country. The victims were befriended online and convinced to invest in fraudulent assets through fake…
MASPETH MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER AND ARSON FOR SETTING FIRE AT FLUSHING HOME THAT KILLED FOUR AND INJURED OTHERS, INCLUDING TWO FDNY MEMBERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Roman Amatitla was charged with eight counts of murder in the second degree, arson in the first degree and related charges for setting a fire that killed four occupants of a Flushing building and injured seven others, including two firefighters. The defendant allegedly used matches from a nearby…
GUY RIVERA CONVICTED OF AGGRAVATED MANSLAUGHTER IN THE FIRST DEGREE FOR FATAL SHOOTING OF NYPD DETECTIVE JONATHAN DILLER AND ATTEMPTED MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE FOR ATTEMPTING TO SHOOT NYPD SERGEANT SASHA ROSEN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Guy Rivera was convicted of aggravated manslaughter in the first degree and other crimes for fatally shooting NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller in Far Rockaway on March 25, 2024. The defendant was also convicted of first-degree attempted murder for attempting to shoot an NYPD sergeant at the scene. He…
DA MELINDA KATZ SWEARS IN FOUR NEW ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the appointment of four new Assistant District Attorneys to the Queens District Attorney’s Office. The new ADAs received their degrees from New York University School of Law, University of Virginia School of Law and University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. District Attorney Katz said: “I am pleased to…
WOODHAVEN MAN ARRAIGNED ON ANIMAL CRUELTY CHARGES FOR STRETCHING FORMER GIRLFRIEND’S CAT TO DEATH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jalen Gonzalez has been indicted on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal mischief and other related crimes for killing his girlfriend’s cat, named Kitty, in January. The defendant allegedly pulled the cat by her head and leg and left the animal with a partial internal decapitation and…
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