News
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…
FIVE REPUTED GANG MEMBERS INDICTED FOR SPATE OF GUN VIOLENCE IN THE ROCKAWAYS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that five reputed gang members have been indicted for their roles in a shooting spree in the Rockaways that wounded two people in March and April. The defendants are variously indicted on charges of conspiracy, attempted murder, robbery, weapon possession and other crimes. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged,…
TEN DEFENDANTS INDICTED FOR LARGE SCALE DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATION BASED IN JAMAICA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 10 individuals have been indicted following a long-term investigation into a drug trafficking operation based in Jamaica that reached into Nassau County. The defendants allegedly sold cocaine, heroin and fentanyl at a Jamaica social club and other locations. The investigation, called “Operation Bell Tower,” included a series of…
FORMER CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE CHARGED WITH FORGERY FOR DISSEMINATING ALTERED POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS AND PHONY NEWS REPORTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jonathan Rinaldi has been charged with forgery and criminal possession of a forged instrument for allegedly creating and distributing false political endorsements and fake news articles using artificial intelligence during his 2025 campaign for City Council in District 29. As alleged, the forged graphics included a legitimate endorsement…
DRIVER OF CAR INVOLVED IN SHOOTING DEATH OF DETECTIVE JONATHAN DILLER PLEADS GUILTY TO TOP-COUNT WEAPON CHARGE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Lindy Jones pleaded guilty today to the top count of the indictment against him, a weapon-possession charge, for a loaded 9 mm firearm that was found in the glove box of his car as the result of a search warrant. Jones was behind the wheel of the car…
FOREST HILLS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR BEATING OF WOODSIDE DELI WORKER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Osvel Diaz pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other crimes for the beating of a 62-year-old worker at the Sunnyside Mini Market in Woodside in June 2024. The defendant pummeled the victim until he was unconscious and then continued to assault him as he lay on the deli…
FAKE SURGEON PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR KILLING 31-YEAR-OLD WOMAN DURING OPERATION IN MAKESHIFT CLINIC
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Felipe Hoyos Foronda pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 31-year-old Maria Penaloza who suffered cardiac arrest in a makeshift surgical clinic set up in the defendant’s Astoria apartment in March 2025. Hoyos Foronda, who was not licensed to practice medicine in the United States, attempted to…
SPEEDING DRIVER INDICTED ON MANSLAUGHTER AND ASSAULT CHARGES FOR MULTI-CAR COLLISION THAT KILLED WOMAN ON FRANCIS LEWIS BOULEVARD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dawood Faisal has been indicted and arraigned in Supreme Court on charges of manslaughter, assault and other crimes for the three-car collision that killed a woman and injured her husband while the defendant was speeding on Francis Lewis Boulevard last month. DA Katz said: “Traffic laws exist to…
Meet the DA
