Press Releases
MOTORIST INDICTED FOR MURDER OF BREEZY POINT MAN AFTER ROAD RAGE INCIDENT THAT BEGAN ON BELT PARKWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Malcolm Anglin was arraigned today on charges of murder in the second degree, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting causing death and criminal possession of a weapon. The defendant is accused of intentionally driving into a 55-year-old man in a Breezy Point parking lot in May…
HALF OF ‘BONNIE AND CLYDE’ MAIL THEFT TEAM SENTENCED TO 3 ½ to 7 YEARS IN PRISON FOR BURGLARY SPREE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Brandon Sestoso was sentenced to 3 ½ to seven years in prison in connection with five residential apartment mailbox thefts between April and August 2024. Sestoso, allegedly accompanied by a female co-conspirator — leading the pair to be dubbed “Bonnie and Clyde” by members of law enforcement…
DRUG DEALING OPERATION DISMANTLED IN JACKSON HEIGHTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the indictment of nine individuals who were charged with selling and possessing controlled substances following a 17-month-long investigation into a drug peddling operation centered on 95th Street in Jackson Heights. Undercover investigators made 40 buys of cocaine, crack and fentanyl with a street value of more than $12,000. District…
QUEENS MEN INDICTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING, PROMOTING PROSTITUTION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Xu Cheng Sun and Jingchao Zhang have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and other crimes for trafficking a Chinese woman inside an East Flushing brothel. The woman arrived in the US from China in November and was taken to a…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SEX TRAFFICKING TEENAGER AND WEAPONS CHARGES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Troy Siddons pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and weapon possession charges for paying a 14-year-old for sex and later coercing her to engage in sex acts with paying customers to pay off a purported debt. The victim was held against her will and denied medical treatment for pain…
THREE CHARGED IN 2019 STABBING DEATH OF 17-YEAR-OLD IN SOUTH JAMAICA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Tianna Benjamin, Charles Gillespie and Kyra Tyrell have been indicted by a grand jury and charged with murder, weapon possession and conspiracy in the November 2019 stabbing death of 17-year-old Talasia Cuffie. The victim attended a memorial basketball game being held in honor of Aamir Griffin, a…
SUBWAY ATTACKER CONVICTED OF ROBBERY AND ASSAULT FOR HAMMER ATTACK ON WOMAN IN QUEENS PLAZA STATION IN 2022
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that William Blount has been convicted of robbery in the first degree, assault in the first degree and other crimes for brutally attacking a straphanger as she entered the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City in 2022. Blount approached the victim from behind, kicked her down the…
SIBLING SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR FATALLY STABBING BROTHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Henrry Gutierrez was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his 52-year-old brother in July 2022. The incident occurred during an argument inside a multi-unit Jamaica residence where the two men lived on separate floors. District Attorney Katz said: “This is an extraordinary family…
QUEENS MAN FOUND GUILTY IN 2022 TRIPLE HOMICIDE STABBING DEATHS OF HIS GIRLFRIEND, HER SON AND A COUSIN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Travis Blake was convicted at trial of murder in the first degree and other crimes for the vicious deaths of his girlfriend and two of her family members. The victims were found with an array of puncture and blunt force wounds and in a state of decomposition when…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ SWEARS IN SIX NEW ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
From left to right Maria Simonova, Jessica Laguerre, Laurane Fumex, the DA, Emily Jilson, Naomi-Beth Carter, and Elizabeth Mullin. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the appointment of six new Assistant District Attorneys to the Queens District Attorney’s Office. The new ADAs received their degrees from Columbia Law School, Cornell Law School, Emory University…
SQUATTER SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN PRISON FOR ILLEGALLY OCCUPYING FLUSHING HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Brian Rodriguez was sentenced to two years in prison for illegally occupying a single-family home in Flushing and renting out rooms to others in February 2024. The defendant forced himself into the house after the homeowner attempted to regain access, then falsely claimed that he was a…
SECOND TEEN APPREHENDED, INDICTED ON GANG ASSAULT CHARGES IN CONNECTION WITH FATAL STABBING AT SUNNYSIDE MCDONALD’S RESTAURANT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that a 17-year-old has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of gang assault in the first degree and other crimes in connection with the stabbing death of 14-year-old Julian Corniell at a McDonald’s in Sunnyside on February 14. The fight stemmed from a prior dispute between two…
ALLEGED MAIL THIEF CHARGED WITH STEALING $80,000 WORTH OF CHECKS FROM CONSTRUCTION UNION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Xingqiang Chen has been charged with grand larceny in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes after an investigation led by the United Stated Postal Inspection Service uncovered an elaborate mail theft operation by the defendant. Chen allegedly falsified authorization documents and used forged…
JFK CONTRACTORS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING COPPER WIRE AT AIRPORT WORK SITE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Anildat Arnold and Vejai Ramsarup are charged with grand larceny, burglary and criminal possession of stolen property for stealing copper cable from a warehouse at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The defendants, who worked for an airport contractor, are alleged to have stolen approximately 1,100 feet of copper…
DRUG DEALER CONVICTED OF POSSESSING TWO KILOGRAMS OF DEADLY FENTANYL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dennis Carrol was convicted by a jury of criminal possession of a controlled substance after transporting a large quantity of fentanyl from Suffolk County into Queens. Approximately 2 kilograms of fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $80,000, were recovered from the trunk of Carrol’s car in November…
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS MAN CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ABUSE FOR ASSAULTING AND THREATENING A 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN WOODHAVEN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that John Garrison was charged with sexual abuse in the first degree, forcible touching and other crimes after allegedly assaulting and threatening to kill a 10-year-old girl as she walked down the street Wednesday in Woodhaven. He is also accused exposing himself the next day on a busy commercial…
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 2021 AMBUSH MURDER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Isaiah Stokes was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison today after being convicted of murder for the fatal shooting of Tyrone Jones in St. Albans on February 7, 2021. The victim was sitting in a parked Jeep Cherokee and waiting for a friend to arrive for…
TEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER FOR STABBING DEATH AT SUNNYSIDE MCDONALD’S RESTAURANT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 16-year-old was indicted by a grand jury and charged with murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree, gang assault in the first degree and other crimes for the stabbing death of 14-year-old Julian Corniell during a melee at a McDonald’s in Sunnyside on…
FOUR INDIVIDUALS INDICTED IN DEED FRAUD SCHEME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that four individuals and three companies were indicted on charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, conspiracy and other crimes for allegedly stealing three homes from their rightful owners in the neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Queens Village and Jamaica Estates. Carl Avinger, Autumn Valeri, Lawrence T….
DISTRICT ATTORNEY KATZ HOSTS 10TH ANNUAL MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION
The Queens District Attorney’s Office hosted its 10th Annual Mock Trial Competition this weekend in the recently upgraded court facilities of the Queens Criminal Court. The competition attracted students from 18 nationally ranked law schools to compete before senior prosecutors and members of the defense bar with New York Supreme and Criminal Court judges presiding…