Posts by mdcampbell
NEW JERSEY MOTHER AND SON ARRESTED ON BURGLARY AND RELATED CHARGES FOR DEED FRAUD/SQUATTING SCHEME TO STEAL FAR ROCKAWAY HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Tanya M. Howard, 47, and her son Trevon Howard, 26, have been charged with burglary, grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly assuming a prior owner’s identity in order to obtain false title papers and take possession of a home in Far Rockaway. The pair allegedly occupied…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION IN 1995 ROBBERY
Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz filed today a joint motion with the defense to vacate defendant Chad Breland’s conviction and 15-year sentence for a November 27, 1995, armed robbery in the Far Rockaway section of Queens. Breland is represented by defense attorney Justin Bonus. The Hon. Michelle Johnson granted the joint motion and dismissed…
Read MoreQUEENS DRIVER SENTENCED TO PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO VEHICULAR HOMICIDE CHARGES IN CRASH THAT KILLED PASSENGER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Nicholas Thompson, 36, has been sentenced to up to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide charges. The defendant hit speeds up to 97 mph while driving drunk. A 32-year-old woman riding with Thompson was killed when the car crashed through a metal…
Read MoreLONG ISLAND MAN INDICTED FOR COLD CASE MURDER IN SHOOTING DEATH OF 34-YEAR-OLD FATHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Michael Brown, 37, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury, charging him with murder and other crimes in the fatal shooting of a 34-year-old man. The defendant allegedly shot the victim from a passing vehicle in St. Albans in September 2018. District Attorney Katz said, “Securing…
Read MoreQUEENS DRIVER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR KILLING PEDESTRIAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jorge Samaniego, 52, has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide. The defendant caused the death of a pedestrian in December 2019 during a string of car crashes in Woodside, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “The sentence imposed…
Read MoreBROOKLYN MAN INDICTED FOR DEADLY SHOOTING OF CORONA TEEN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Dennis Vassilenko, 18, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder charges. A female co-defendant is charged in the indictment with hindering prosecution. On July 7, 2021, Vassilenko allegedly shot a 17-year-old across the street from a Corona restaurant…
Read MoreCO-DEFENDANT INDICTED BY GRAND JURY AND CHARGED WITH HINDERING PROSECUTION IN FATAL SHOOTING OF 14-YEAR-OLD AAMIR GRIFFIN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Tymirh Bey-Foster, 18, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on hindering prosecution charges for his role in the mistaken-identity killing of Aamir Griffin. The 14-year-old victim was gunned down on October 26, 2019. This defendant allegedly helped the accused…
Read MoreQUEENS RESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN 2019 SHOOTING DEATH OF MAN RUNNING AWAY FROM DEFENDANT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Keanu Suckoo, 21, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 27-year-old man. The victim was gunned down as he ran down the street in Jamaica, Queens in March 2019. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant in this case has now admitted to shooting…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN HIT WITH ASSAULT, FORGERY, GUN CHARGES AND MORE AFTER RAMMING POLICE CAR AT ROADBLOCK IN AUGUST
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that David Griffiths, 24, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on gun charges, criminal possession of stolen property, possession of a forged instrument and other crimes. The defendant was allegedly in a stolen car when police pursued him in early August…
Read MoreDEFENDANT IN JFK CARGO HEIST PLEADS GUILTY TO CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, with the Port Authority Chief Security Officer John Bilich, announced today that David Lacarriere, 34, has pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree for his involvement in the May 17, 2020 Kennedy Airport cargo heist of more than $4 million worth of designer goods. The…
Read MoreQUEENS GRAND JURY DECLINES TO INDICT IN CHOKEHOLD CASE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said today that a grand jury considering charges against former police officer David Afanador has found a no true bill and declined to indict. The District Attorney had charged Afanador with using a chokehold on a man he arrested in Far Rockaway on June 21, 2020. “While the law prohibits…
Read MoreQUEENS WOMAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME FOR DESTROYING STATUES AT FOREST HILLS CATHOLIC CHURCH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jacqueline Nikiena, 23, has been charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime for destroying two statues in front of a church in Forest Hills, Queens. The defendant allegedly pulled down the statues and bashed them to pieces early Tuesday morning in July 2021. District Attorney Katz…
Read MoreCONNECTICUT RESIDENT CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER AND DRUNK DRIVING IN DEATH OF DIRT BIKE RIDER ON LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jorge Serrano, 30, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving for allegedly striking a dirt bike on the Long Island Expressway and killing its rider. Serrano also allegedly struck a moped, the rider of which has been hospitalized with a broken leg. District Attorney Katz…
Read MoreDISGRUNTLED CLIENT INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES IN STABBING DEATH OF QUEENS LAWYER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Nando Perez, 64, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court for murder in the August 2021 stabbing death of a 65-year-old Queens attorney. District Attorney Katz said, “This was a brutal killing that stunned the community. The victim was found dead…
Read MoreDEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR KILLING ALLEGED RIVAL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Chaz Reyes, 31, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the July 2017 shooting death of a 26-year-old man near a 21st Street bus stop in the vicinity of the Ravenswood Houses in Astoria, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “In pleading guilty, the defendant has…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH TRANSPORTING GUNS AND AMMO INTO NEW YORK AFTER BUYING WEAPONS AT GUN SHOW IN PENNSYLVANIA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Richard McCormick, 42, is charged in a 117-count criminal complaint with criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes. The defendant allegedly purchased a cache of high-capacity magazines, firearm components and ammunition at a gun show in Pennsylvania and drove to New York – where all are…
Read MoreQUEENS HOUSEKEEPER INDICTED ON GRAND LARCENY CHARGES FOR ALLEGEDLY EMBEZZLING OVER $72,000 FROM ELDERLY EMPLOYER’S BANK ACCOUNT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Ondina Flores, a trusted housekeeper for an elderly couple, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on grand larceny and other charges. The defendant allegedly embezzled over $72,000 from her employers’ bank accounts over a period of four years. District Attorney…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH CRUELTY TO ANIMALS; MORE THAN TWO DOZEN SICK AND INJURED PIT BULLS HOUSED IN DUNGEON-LIKE CONDITIONS IN RICHMOND HILL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Andrew Cato, 59, has been charged in a 92-count criminal complaint with aggravated animal cruelty, prohibition of animal fighting and other crimes. The defendant allegedly bred dogs for fighting, as evidenced by numerous dog bite scars and wounds on some of the 27 dogs and the retrieval…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE FOR DRUNK DRIVING SPREE OF CRASHES THAT KILLED A PEDESTRIAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jorge Samaniego, 51, has pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide for causing the death of a pedestrian in a December 2019 string of crashes in Woodside. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant made the selfish decision to get behind the wheel of a car while drunk. His…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR SELLING DRUGS AND CARRYING ILLEGAL FIREARM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Chris Lee, 30, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing a gun and selling illegal narcotics. The defendant was caught carrying a firearm and was observed during a long-term investigation selling both guns and drugs between August 2019 and January 2020.…
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