Posts by Renea Henry
GRAND JURY INDICTS QUEENS MAN FOR MURDER IN KILLING OF YOUNG MOTHER HIT BY STRAY BULLET IN ASTORIA LAST MONTH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Dajuan Williams, 19, has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on murder and other charges. Williams was allegedly aiming to shoot a rival gang member when a stray bullet hit and killed a 37-year-old mother of two young children in March.…
Read MoreDISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ PRESENTS SPECIAL PROGRAM IN HONOR OF NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS WEEK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz presents a special program in honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This virtual event takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The District Attorney has invited several guest speakers from the Queens community and this livestreamed event will also feature live performances. The…
Read MoreMAN WEARING GLOVE OF BLADES SEEN ON VIRAL VIDEO ATTACKING BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERS INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Frank Cavalluzzi, 55, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on attempted murder, attempted assault and other charges for allegedly attacking peaceful demonstrators in Whitestone, Queens in June 2020. Videos of the peaceful demonstration that turned into a panicked spree…
Read MoreDRUG DEALER FROM GREAT NECK SENTENCED TO UP TO 6 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Justin Lum, of Great Neck, has been sentenced to up to 6 years in prison after pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and drug possession in separate incidents resulting in the deaths of his girlfriend and a male acquaintance. Both victims – who had previously overdosed on…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN BLUDGEONING DEATH OF ELDERLY NEIGHBOR
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Yomar Gonzalez, 38, has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on murder and other charges for allegedly beating his 71-year-old neighbor to death with a metal rod on March 17, 2021. District Attorney Katz said, “This was a senseless act of…
Read MoreQUEENS COUPLE INDICTED ON SEX TRAFFICKING AND OTHER CHARGES FOR TRANSPORTING WOMEN FROM KOREA AND FORCING THEM INTO PROSTITUTION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Jung Ja Ornstein, 62, and Eric Ornstein, 49, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on sex trafficking charges and other crimes for allegedly bringing two female victims from Korea and coercing them to…
Read MoreTHREE PROFESSIONAL TAX PREPARERS IN QUEENS CHARGED WITH FRAUD FOR FILING FALSE RETURNS THAT CHEATED CITY AND STATE
Defendants Worked at Two Unrelated Businesses in Flushing and Woodside; The Accused Allegedly Forged Signatures and Outright Lied on Returns to Downplay Tax Liability for Clients Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Michael R. Schmidt, today announce that Yachun Lin of ETS Tax Services and Nayib…
Read MoreSCAM AWARENESS AND FRAUD PROTECTION WEBINAR MEDIA ADVISORY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is sponsoring a Scam Awareness and Fraud Protection virtual event tomorrow, Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The event will include several legal experts from the District Attorney’s Office and partner tax advocates and specialists. The program will also be available in Spanish and Mandarin. The Queens…
Read MoreQUEENS COUNTY GRAND JURY INDICTS CAR WASH EMPLOYEE ON VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER AND DRUNK DRIVING CHARGES IN DEATH OF WOMAN STRUCK WHILE WALKING TO HER JUST-CLEANED AUTO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens County grand jury has indicted Edwin Vargas Tabares, 43, who was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on vehicular manslaughter and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol charges. The defendant was allegedly intoxicated while working at an Ozone Park car wash business and struck…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION WITH DEFENSE TO VACATE CONVICTIONS IN 1996 DOUBLE MURDER CASE BASED ON FAILURE TO DISCLOSE EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE
Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the filing of a joint motion with defense counsel to vacate the convictions of George Bell, Gary Johnson, and Rohan Bolt, who were convicted of the December 21, 1996, murders of Ira “Mike” Epstein and NYPD Police Officer Charles Davis in the course of robbing Mr. Epstein’s…
Read MoreGRAND JURY INDICTS QUEENS RESIDENT IN HIT AND RUN CRASH THAT KILLED GOOD SAMARITAN WHO STOPPED TO HELP MAN HAVING CAR TROUBLE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Kevin Drawhorne, 27, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on criminally negligent homicide charges and other crimes for allegedly hitting and killing one man and injuring another on January 29, 2021. The victim was a Good Samaritan who had…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH STEALING $11,000 IN TEXT MESSAGE SCAM TO DECEASED MAN’S SISTER IN IRELAND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Frederick Gilbert, 53, has been charged with grand larceny, identity theft and other crimes for allegedly stealing $11,000 from a woman in Ireland by using her dead brother’s cell phone to convince her he was her sibling – and then repeatedly requesting she send him money in…
Read MoreQUEENS HOME HEALTH AIDE CHARGED WITH STEALING NEARLY $100,000 FROM LEGALLY BLIND 89-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
Defendant Allegedly Duped Victim into Signing Checks That Greatly Exceeded Weekly Pay; Accused Faces Up to 15 Years in Prison if Convicted Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Sita Saunders, 61, has been charged with grand larceny, identity theft and other crimes for allegedly siphoning nearly $100,000 from her legally blind, 89-year-old patient’s…
Read MoreCAR WASH EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AND DRUNK DRIVING IN DEATH OF WOMAN STRUCK WHILE WALKING TO HER JUST-CLEANED AUTO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Edwin Vargas, 43, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving for allegedly being intoxicated while working at an Ozone Park car wash business and striking a woman and killing her as he drove a vehicle off the cleaning rack Monday afternoon. District Attorney Katz said,…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ HOSTS LUNAR NEW YEAR VIRTUAL EVENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is sponsoring a Lunar New Year virtual event this Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The District Attorney will honor several community leaders and the livestreamed event will also feature live cultural performances. Lunar New Year 2021- the Year of the Ox -will be celebrated around the…
Read MoreQUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE SEIZES 1.7 MILLION PIECES OF COUNTERFEIT PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT FROM WAREHOUSE; BROOKLYN MAN CHARGED WITH FELONY FOR POSSESSING BOGUS PPE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that an investigation by her Office’s Frauds Bureau resulted in the seizure of 1.7 million counterfeit 3M N95 respirator masks from a Long Island City warehouse before they could be distributed to the public. Detectives from the Queens District Attorney’s Office arrested Zhi Zeng, 33, of Dyker Heights,…
Read MoreMAN INDICTED ON ROBBERY AND ASSAULT CHARGES FOR PURSE SNATCHING THAT INJURED ELDERLY WOMAN IN FOREST HILLS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Alhusene Danso, 20, has been arraigned in Supreme Court following a Queens County grand jury handing up an indictment charging the defendant with robbery and assault for a vicious attack on an octogenarian. The victim was attacked as she exited her parking garage in Forest Hills on…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER IN STABBING DEATH OF HIS 72-YEAR-OLD FATHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jaimie Walker, 30, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury charging him with murder and other crimes in the death of his 72-year-old father. The defendant was arraigned in Supreme Court today for allegedly beating and stabbing his father multiple times with a pair of scissors…
Read MoreQUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 17 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN STABBING DEATH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that John Daves, 34, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for the September 2018 stabbing death of a 25-year-old Long Island man. The two men had a heated dispute near a food cart in Jackson Heights, Queens. District Attorney Katz said,…
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