Press Releases
QUEENS WOMAN CHARGED IN 88-COUNT INDICTMENT WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY, CRIMINAL CONTEMPT AND OTHER CRIMES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Elizabeth Grant, 56, has been charged in an 88-count indictment with aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal contempt and other crimes for allegedly having more than 20 dogs and cats in a filthy, two-story home in Jackson Heights. The animals did not have accessible water, were living in…
FORMER DIRECTOR AT TWO QUEENS NURSING HOMES CHARGED WITH STEALING MORE THAN 1,500 OXYCODONE PILLS FROM FACILITIES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Charles Gonder was arraigned on drug charges today following an investigation into his past employment as the nursing director at two nursing homes — the Regal Heights Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, and the Sapphire Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing of Central Queens. He is accused of stealing more…
CRYPTOCURRENCY HACKER NETWORK DISMANTLED; SEVEN DEFENDANTS INDICTED FOR STEALING MORE THAN $300,000 IN BITCOIN FROM QUEENS RESIDENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that seven defendants have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of grand larceny, money laundering, identity theft and other related crimes following a long-term investigation into a hack of a private cryptocurrency wallet belonging to a Queens resident. Bitcoin was removed from the victim’s Blockchain.com wallet through…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ REQUESTS DISMISSAL OF 46 CASES CONNECTED TO FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE
Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz petitioned the Court today to vacate the convictions of 46 defendants whose cases involved a detective later convicted of perjury. After former NYPD Detective James Donovan plead guilty in 2023 to falsely testifying before a Queens grand jury, an extensive review was conducted of his previous cases by the…
TWO HOLLIS MEN SENTENCED FOR MURDERING DICE GAME OPPONENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Mark Watson and Rodney Dunn were each sentenced today to 23 years to life in prison for the murder of 33-year-old Christopher McKnight, who was shot to death during a dice game in 2021. McKnight was winning when he was held up at gunpoint and shot. District Attorney…
ROCKAWAY BEACH MAN CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR SHOOTING AT NYPD OFFICERS IN EDGEMERE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Joel Kelly was arraigned on a criminal complaint charging him with attempted murder in the first degree, attempted assault in the first degree and other crimes for firing at two NYPD police officers who were pursuing him in Edgemere after responding to a call of shots fired in…
STATEMENT FROM DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ON RANDOL CONTRERAS BEING CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said: “We have charged Randol Contreras with attempted murder. A young woman is fighting for her life after being stabbed in an unprovoked attack as she exited the subway system. This defendant allegedly asked the victim for money and then stabbed the woman multiple times in the torso, leaving her…
DEFENDANT SERVING TIME ON ATTEMPTED MURDER CONVICTION INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES AFTER VICTIM PASSES AWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jeffrey Thurston has been indicted by a grand jury on murder in the second degree for shooting former college athlete Malachi Capers after the victim accidentally bumped into him inside a deli in Laurelton in July 2020. In June 2022, Thurston was sentenced to 18 years in prison…
SIX DEFENDANTS INDICTED FOR VOTER FRAUD RELATED TO JUNE 2023 NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL PRIMARY CAMPAIGN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that six defendants are variously charged in a 161-count indictment with criminal possession of a forged instrument, falsifying business records, illegal voting and other crimes in an alleged scheme to submit falsified absentee ballot applications for the campaign of Yu-Ching James Pai, who was a candidate in the June…
DELIVERY TRUCK DRIVER INDICTED FOR HIT-AND-RUN COLLISION THAT KILLED 16-YEAR-OLD PEDESTRIAN AND INJURED HER 8-YEAR-OLD SISTER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Boubacar Barry was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide in the death of 16-year-old Jael Zhinin who was struck by Barry’s water delivery truck as she was crossing 46th Street in Sunnyside along with her younger sister, who was also hit and seriously…
DRIVER WITH SUSPENDED LICENSE INDICTED FOR STRIKING E-BIKER WHILE FLEEING POLICE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Harold Vega was indicted by a grand jury on charges of assault, leaving the scene of an incident and other related crimes after allegedly slamming into an e-bike rider while fleeing police in Astoria on July 3. Vega allegedly ran through 26 red lights and 14 stop signs…
PARENTS OF TEEN DRIVER SENTENCED ON CHILD ENDANGERMENT CHARGES IN GROUNDBREAKING CASE AFTER SON ALLEGEDLY KILLED 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN GRUESOME COLLISION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that the parents of a teen driver – who was charged with manslaughter in the death of the 14-year-old passenger in the BMW he was driving – were sentenced today in a groundbreaking case on endangering the welfare of a child charges for facilitating the child’s access to the…
SOUTH OZONE PARK MAN INDICTED FOR MURDER IN SHOOTING DEATH OF 24-YEAR-OLD AT BIRTHDAY PARTY IN 2022
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Curtis Benjamin was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned today on murder, attempted murder and weapon charges in the shooting death of 24-year-old Justin Baerga who was at a party in Richmond Hill while celebrating his birthday in July 2022. Three other partygoers were wounded in the…
QUEENS VILLAGE MAN INDICTED FOR FATALLY STABBING STRANGER IN DELI
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jahshua Kelley was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned today on murder, assault and weapon charges in the fatal stabbing of a 40-year-old man inside a Jamaica deli on June 22. The violence allegedly unfolded after the two men encountered each other outside the deli and the…
JAMAICA RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 36 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FATAL SHOOTING IN JANUARY 2020 AND SECOND HOMICIDE IN APRIL 2021
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ashik Zaman was sentenced today to 36 years in prison for killing a 39-year-old man in 2020 in a dispute over money and for fatally shooting another man in 2021 outside a liquor store in South Ozone Park. That victim died the next day, his 29th birthday. District…
ALLEGED VANDAL CHARGED WITH FELONY HATE CRIME AFTER TARGETED ATTACK ON RELIGIOUS STATUE IN FRONT OF CATHOLIC CHURCH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jamshaid Choudhry has been charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and other related crimes for allegedly smashing a Holy Family statue outside of the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Fresh Meadows on June 30. The attack caused the head of one of the statues, the…
LONG ISLAND MAN SENTENCED TO THREE TO NINE YEARS FOR STEALING ELDERLY WOMAN’S EAST ELMHURST HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Marcus Wilcher was sentenced today to three to nine years in prison for stealing an East Elmhurst home from its elderly owner by using forged documents and by creating a fictitious character – the owner’s purported son — to facilitate the transaction. The home was then sold for…
SIX PEOPLE INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED GANG ASSAULT OF POLICE OFFICERS WHO WERE CHECKING ON WELFARE OF UNATTENDED CHILDREN OUTSIDE LONG ISLAND CITY HOTEL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that six people were arraigned on a grand jury indictment charging them with attempted assault in the first degree, attempted gang assault in the first and second degrees and related crimes for an attack on two NYPD officers. The officers were checking on the welfare of three unattended children…
HOLLIS MAN INDICTED ON GUN CHARGES AFTER CACHE OF WEAPONS FOUND IN CAR DURING TRAFFIC STOP IN EAST ELMHURST
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Judd Sanson has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned on charges of criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes after a traffic stop in East Elmhurst near LaGuardia Airport led to the discovery of an arsenal of weapons along with body armor inside his vehicle….
REPUTED GANG MEMBER SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR DEADLY SHOOTING OF CORONA TEEN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dennis Vassilenko, a member of the Crips 8 Trey gang, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of 17-year-old Eduardo Hernandez-Martinez in July 2021. Vassilenko was found guilty of murder following a jury trial for shooting the teen at point-blank range in front…
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