Posts by ASokol@queensda.org

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jonathan Velez was indicted on assault and reckless endangerment charges for punching his cousin after the two got into an argument on Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park in August. Velez allegedly knocked his 39-year-old relative to the ground and while the victim was unconscious, the defendant went through…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Moustafa Taher was indicted for assault, reckless driving, leaving the scene and other crimes for a motor vehicle collision that took place on November 18, 2023, at the intersection of 29th Street and Broadway in Astoria. Taher struck the victim, who was operating a motorcycle, and seriously…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Eric Zafra Grosso was arraigned on assault as a hate crime and related charges for allegedly attacking a man who was wearing a yarmulke and walking at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Yellowstone Boulevard on Tuesday. The unprovoked attack was preceded by antisemitic slurs. District Attorney Katz…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the third phase of a sweeping enforcement action against illegal cannabis storefronts in the borough. Dubbed Operation Weed Whacker, the months-long investigation included undercover buys and resulted in the padlocking of four locations, seven arrests and the seizure of hundreds of pounds of illicit cannabis and tobacco products. Two…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Leonardo Ferretti was charged with grand larceny and other crimes for falsely representing himself as an attorney and charging a Corona woman more than $15,000 for immigration services. After meeting in December 2022, Ferretti socialized with the victim, allegedly offered a fake business card and provided routine updates…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jose Velasquez was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned today on a charge of second-degree murder in the 1998 strangulation homicide of an unidentified female victim. The victim was found inside an Astoria motel on January 12, 1998, with a scarf tightly wrapped around her neck. No…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Charles Foehner was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty in November to criminal possession of a weapon stemming from charges in which the defendant was in possession of unlicensed and unregistered firearms, including four assault weapons, inside his Kew Gardens apartment. The defendant was accosted…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 18-year-old Derek Trejo and a 17-year-old co-defendant have been charged with murder and weapon possession for the stabbing death of 17-year-old Josue Argudo in Woodhaven on Friday. The two defendants argued with the victim, who was returning home from school, and allegedly acted in concert to punch and…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Feliz Enrique pleaded guilty to multiple assault charges for attacking a 9-year-old girl who was playing on a Glendale street. The defendant forcefully struck the child with his hand on May 10. When a nearby off-duty police sergeant intervened to apprehend him, Enrique bit off the top segment…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Nicole Boodhai has been indicted on murder in the second degree for intentionally causing the death of her 15-month-old son, Charlie Ramraykha. The defendant was at the home of Charlie’s father on December 29 when she was discovered in a locked bathroom with the lifeless child. District Attorney…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Nathan White was arraigned on grand jury indictment charges of making a terroristic threat as a hate crime and related crimes for posting threatening messages on his X account in November. The messages threatened the murder of Jewish and Israeli residents of New York City, as well as…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Durran Morgan was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for murdering his 25-year-old nephew during a Memorial Day weekend party in St. Albans in 2023. Morgan quarreled with Chevaughn Millings over payment for the barbeque chicken – and who was entitled to eat it – at…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that George Tsintzelis was convicted of attempted murder, assault and other crimes for shoving his 64-year-old mother¸ Paraskevi Tsintzelis, out of their third-floor apartment window in 2024. District Attorney Katz said: “Paraskevi Tsintzelis was seriously injured but fortunately survived the fall and then made the difficult decision to testify…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Justin Aguilera was arraigned today on charges of gang assault, riot and other related charges for attacking a Malba man and his wife after the victims told the defendant and a group of others to disperse from in front of their property. The incident took place during a…

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Durran Morgan was convicted of murder in the shooting death of his 25-year-old nephew during a family barbecue in St. Albans during Memorial Day weekend in 2023. Morgan argued with his nephew, 25-year-old Chevaughn Millings, over payment for the chicken served at the gathering. The defendant was also…