Press Releases
LITTLE NECK MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR KIDNAPPING AND ATTEMPTING TO STRANGLE WIFE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Yaspal Persaud was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for kidnapping his estranged wife from where she worked, in full view of stunned onlookers, as well as strangling her on a previous date. The defendant led police on a multi-county, high-speed chase before he was apprehended with…
MAN CHARGED AFTER SEARCH OF HOME TURNS UP WEAPONS ARSENAL AND DRUGS [PHOTO]
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kevin Sygney was charged today with criminal possession of weapons and controlled substances after a search warrant executed at his St. Albans home uncovered an arsenal of firearms and ammunition, as well as more than eight ounces of cocaine and 625 tablets of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or “molly.” District…
DISTRICT ATTORNEY KATZ CREATES NEW PROSECUTORIAL DIVISION, ANNOUNCES SENIOR-LEVEL APPOINTMENTS
District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the creation of a division in her office that will be dedicated to investigating and prosecuting criminals who prey on society’s most vulnerable. The Special Prosecutions Division, comprised of the Special Victims and Domestic Violence Bureaus and the Juvenile Prosecutions Unit, will be led by newly appointed Executive Assistant District…
DEFENDANTS SENTENCED FOR SLAYINGS IN SOUTH RICHMOND HILL, OZONE PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Richard Davenport and Neville Brown were sentenced on manslaughter charges in connection with four fatal shootings that took place in South Richmond Hill and Ozone Park between 2015 and 2018. Davenport was sentenced a combined total of 29 years in prison, consisting of consecutive 14.5-year sentences, and Brown…
DEFENDANTS PLEAD GUILTY IN SCHEME TO STEAL EAST ELMHURST HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jorge Vasquez Jr. and Andy V. Singh pleaded guilty to grand larceny for filing fraudulent paperwork to claim ownership of an East Elmhurst home. The defendants impersonated a deceased woman and her son to unlawfully access the property’s mortgage information, then sold the house to a shell corporation….
TWO SENTENCED FOR FORCING TEENAGE GIRLS INTO SEX INDUSTRY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Lawrence Winslow and Alan Velvett were each sentenced today to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking of a child and rape. The defendants forced three underaged victims into the sex industry in February 2021. One of the victims was coerced into having intercourse with both defendants. District…
BROOKLYN MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FATAL ASSAULT WITH A ROCK ON A WOMAN IN CORONA
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Elisaul Perez today was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attacking 61-year-old GuiYing Ma as she swept a sidewalk in Corona on the day after Thanksgiving in 2021, fatally striking her twice in the head with a large rock. District Attorney Katz said: “While today’s sentence cannot…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 17 YEARS FOR BOTCHED SHOOT-OUT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Nazieer Basir was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for the deadly shooting of a 22-year-old man in Ozone Park in December 2020. District Attorney Katz said: “We will not tolerate shoot-outs on the streets of Queens County. People will be held accountable for their actions. The…
ELMONT MAN SENTENCED TO 22 YEARS TO LIFE FOR SHOOTING WIFE AT JAMAICA MOTEL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Malcom White was sentenced today to 22 years-to-life in prison for shooting his wife during a dispute at a hotel in Jamaica, Queens, in March 2020. White had been convicted in July. District Attorney Katz said: “I believe that the sentence imposed today provides at least some measure…
PHILADELPHIA MAN CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY AFTER REGO PARK TRAFFIC STOP REVEALS 8 MALNOURISHED PUPPIES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ravon Service was charged today with torturing and failing to provide food and drink to animals in connection with a Rego Park police stop Saturday. District Attorney Katz said: “Thankfully, these voiceless, defenseless victims have been rescued from their miserable circumstances. Animal cruelty is unacceptable and illegal and…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING TEENAGE GIRL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Darius “Gotti” Fleming was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking of a child after forcing a 14-year-old girl to have sex with strangers for cash at a hotel in Jamaica, Queens. The victim was rescued from a home in Brooklyn, where she was forced…
CORONA MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR VIOLENTLY ASSAULTING AND STABBING COUSIN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Edward Huerta was arraigned today on charges of attempted murder and other crimes for allegedly attacking his roommate and cousin in their Corona residence. The 19-year-old female victim suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on her brain, among other injuries, after Huerta allegedly assaulted her with a baseball…
HUSBAND CHARGED WITH MOWING DOWN WIFE WITH SUV AND STABBING HER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Stephen Giraldo was charged today with attempted murder, assault and other crimes for allegedly hitting his wife with his SUV and then stabbing her with a knife. The couple’s three children were in the vehicle at the time of the incident in front of her Flushing residence. District…
QUEENS FATHER INDICTED FOR ALLEGED MURDER OF 3-YEAR-OLD SON
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shaquan Butler has been indicted for murder, endangering the welfare of a child and other crimes in connection with the death of his 3-year-old son and physical abuse to a second child in an Elmhurst shelter last month. District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, this parent failed his…
BROOKLYN MEN INDICTED IN SERIES OF CONVENIENCE STORE ROBBERIES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Reginald Williams, Calvin Scantlebury and Dewkwan Cooper were indicted by a grand jury and arraigned on robbery and other charges for allegedly holding up at gunpoint two people at two different retail establishments in Queens on November 20. Defendant Williams was also indicted and arraigned on robbery and…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 8 YEARS FOR SEX TRAFFICKING HOMELESS WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Adam “Damian” Lee was sentenced to eight years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes for forcing a homeless woman into prostitution and threatening to physically harm another. District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant used violence to cruelly exploit a victim at her lowest point, forcing her…
DA KATZ CHARGES OPERATORS OF UNLICENSED CANNABIS DISPENSARY IN ROCKAWAY PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that two men were charged with unlawful sale and criminal possession of cannabis for allegedly operating an illegal marijuana dispensary from a converted school bus in Rockaway Park, across from the Rockaway Ferry Dock, less than two blocks from nearby schools. The seizure of the truck comes on the…
BROOKLYN RESIDENT SENTENCED IN DEADLY BELT PARKWAY CRASH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jason Bical was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for aggravated vehicular manslaughter after pleading guilty last month to striking and killing a 63-year-old motorist on the Belt Parkway while under the influence of cocaine, marijuana and alcohol in December 2020. District Attorney Katz said: “This…
DA KATZ SECURES INDICTMENT ON ATTEMPTED RAPE, BURGLARY FOR VIOLENT HOME INVASION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Michael Rispers was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned on attempted rape, burglary, assault and other charges stemming from an armed home invasion. Rispers allegedly unlawfully entered a home in Jamaica, Queens, and violently attacked a female resident. Upon hearing her screams, a male family member interrupted…
TWO MEN INDICTED FOR DEADLY EXCHANGE OF GUNFIRE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN BROOKVILLE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dariel Herrera and Zandrae Ennis have been indicted and arraigned on murder and attempted murder charges, respectively, in the deadly exchange of gunfire that killed a 19-year-old Springfield Gardens man. District Attorney Katz said: “The only way to describe this incident is to say that it was as…
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