Posts by ASokol@queensda.org

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…

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…

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…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that a 15-year-old was arraigned on a complaint charging him with multiple counts of attempted murder, attempted assault and weapon possession for firing at two New York City Police Department officers in an unmarked car on Tuesday in the Rockaways. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, a 15-year-old, along…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Michael Robinson was convicted of murder after being retried for the 1993 stabbing death of his estranged wife, 29-year-old Gwendolyn Samuels. Samuels was killed a year after she and Robinson separated. At the time she was two months pregnant with her new boyfriend’s child and was working…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Luis Emmanuel Valencia Ponce was indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, assault and other crimes for the unprovoked stabbing of a woman on her way to an East Elmhurst bus stop in March. Ponce allegedly followed the 29-year-old victim, grabbed her from behind…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Daniel was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was convicted by a jury of three counts of murder in the first degree. Daniel stabbed to death his girlfriend and two tenants living inside his St. Albans home in November 2023.…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Matthew Rodriguez was arraigned and remanded today on indictment charges of attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon for shooting a 15-year-old victim aboard a Manhattan-bound A train on April 27. The victim was in a physical fight with Rodriguez’ co-defendant stemming from an earlier shooting…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jose Polanco was indicted for grand larceny and other crimes for collectively stealing more than $1 million from two borrowers at mortgage refinancings and from Dime Community Bank by writing bad checks. During this fraudulent scheme, Polanco, a former attorney who has been suspended since 2018, allegedly…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Yang Zhang was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for the stabbing death of Yat Ming Wong, who was killed in his apartment in May 2022. Zhang entered the man’s home and woke up the victim and his wife. A physical altercation ensued between the…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Richard Swygert was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison on murder, two counts of attempted murder and related charges for killing one man and seriously injuring two others in a New Years’ Day shooting in 2021. Swygert and one of his companions got into an…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Zahir Davis was arraigned on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, gang assault and weapon possession for the shooting death of 15-year-old Jaden Pierre in Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans on April 16. District Attorney Katz said: “Jaden Pierre was beaten by other…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the closure of an unlicensed storefront cannabis dispensary operating on Bell Boulevard in Bayside. A court-authorized search of the premises on May 14 resulted in the seizure of thousands of pounds of illicit cannabis and tobacco products and two arrests on felony-level charges. The enforcement efforts were in response…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Daniel was convicted by a jury of three counts of murder in the first degree for the stabbing deaths of two tenants and his girlfriend inside his St. Albans home in November 2023. The defendant told investigators the attacks were prompted by the tenants’ failure to pay…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Mark Albano was convicted yesterday by a jury of murder, attempted murder and other crimes for stabbing four men in 2021, killing one on the Grand Avenue-Newton subway platform and seriously injuring three others. These attacks took place on four separate days over two-week period. District Attorney Katz…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dwayne Scott was sentenced to 21-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for gunning down a 20-year-old man in September 2021. The victim, father of a toddler and the defendant’s former friend, was fatally shot over an apparent money dispute. District Attorney…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Richard Dixon was convicted of murder and other crimes for a June 2022 shooting in Ozone Park that led to the death of his accomplice, Raymond Francis, instead of the individual he was pursuing. The incident also resulted in multiple gun injuries to the two intended victims. The…