Press Release
NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR INDICTED IN MURDER OF 10-YEAR-OLD BOY IN FAR ROCKAWAY

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ashram Lochan was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with murder in connection with a 2021 shooting, apparently sparked by a dispute over a shared driveway, that killed 10-year-old Justin Wallace and seriously injured his cousin, 29-year-old Kyle Forrester. Lochan allegedly acted in concert with Jovan Young, whose murder case is pending.
District Attorney Katz said: “The plague of gun violence, one senseless shooting after another, claims one life after another in our communities. In this case, the life claimed was that of a young boy, days away from just his eleventh birthday. We will seek justice on his behalf and continue fighting as hard as we can against the scourge of gun violence.”
Lochan, 29, of Beach 45th Street in Far Rockaway, was arraigned on a six-count indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and tampering with physical evidence. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky ordered Lochan to return to court September 26. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Young, 31, of Far Rockaway, was charged in 2021 with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
According to a timeline of events and the charges:
- On June 5, 2021, Lochan had a dispute with Forrester, who lived next door on Beach 45th Street, over their shared driveway.
- Later that day, at approximately 9:33 p.m., Young, acting at Lochan’s direction, fired a pistol multiple times into Forrester’s residence and in his direction as he entered his front door.
- At the time, there were multiple children inside of the house including Wallace
- Forrester was hit several times. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
- Wallace was struck in the torso. The bullet perforated his heart and left lung, killing him. He would have turned 11 three days later.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Selkowe of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Joseph Randazzo under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John W. Kosinski, Bureau Chief, Peter J. McCormack III, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, and Karen Ross, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.
**Criminal complaints and indictments are accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.