Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Joseph Gilbert Stevens has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for fatally shooting Richard Carter outside a Jamaica church while a funeral was taking place inside in April.

District Attorney Katz said: “A sorrowful day turned even more tragic when this defendant made the cruel decision to shoot a mourner outside a funeral. He has pleaded guilty and will now be sentenced to a lengthy term in prison for his actions. Our thoughts are with Richard Carter’s loved ones as they continue to mourn his loss.”

Stevens, 34, of Jamaica, pleaded guilty on Thursday, July 2 to manslaughter in the first degree. Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant set sentencing for August 14 when Stevens is expected to face 24 years in prison to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.

DA Katz said that, according to the charges, on April 10, 2026, at approximately 2:12 p.m., Stevens arrived on a Citi Bike at the Shekinah Youth Chapel, which is located at the intersection of Merrick Boulevard and Sayres Avenue in Jamaica and is part of the Greater Allen AME Cathedral. He went inside to the funeral, approached the casket and then left.

At approximately 2:17 p.m., Stevens ran toward 49-year-old Richard Carter of Valley Stream, who was walking toward the chapel on Sayres Avenue, and shot him four times.

Carter was immediately transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

Stevens fled the scene. He was apprehended on April 11.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Kanella Georgopoulos of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Bureau Chief, Karen Ross and Jonathan Selkowe, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.