Press Releases
MAN CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AND DWI IN CRASH THAT KILLED MOTHER AND DAUGHTER AND INJURED HIS PASSENGERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Tyrone Absolam, 42, has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, driving while under the influence of alcohol and other charges for the Saturday evening car crash that killed a mother and her daughter. DA Katz said, “As alleged, the defendant’s selfish, illegal choices resulted in the tragic…
QUEENS WOMAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIMES FOR FOUR SEPARATE ATTACKS ON ASIANS IN QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Maricia Bell, 25, has been charged with assault as a hate crime and other charges for four different attacks on people of Asian descent in Flushing, Queens. The defendant allegedly punched or struck the victims with an object without provocation starting in May of this year and…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING OF 5-YEAR-OLD BOY SNATCHED FROM SIDEWALK WITHIN FEET OF MOTHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that James McGonagle, 24, has been indicted by a Queens Grand Jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on charges of attempted kidnapping and other crimes for allegedly grabbing a 5-year-old boy off the sidewalk as he walked with his family on July 15, 2021. District Attorney Katz said,…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT IN HIT AND RUN OF FOUR-YEAR-OLD STRUCK IN FLUSHING MEADOWS-CORONA PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Argenis Rivas, 29, has been charged with felony assault, endangering the welfare of a child and other crimes for striking a 4-year-old-child in a parking lot in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park while riding a motorized scooter on Sunday, July 18. The defendant allegedly hit the child with the…
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS IN PRISON FOR STABBING DEATH OF HALF-BROTHER IN 2020
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today Wkorasky Voltaire, 30, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for the May 2020 stabbing death of his half-brother in Queens Village, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “The sentence of the Court provides a measure of justice and punishes this defendant for ending his 22-year-old brother’s life…
EIGHT PEOPLE INDICTED AND CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY FOR CASHING IN ON STOLEN AND/OR FORGED CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by the United States Postal Inspector in Charge Philip R. Barnett, announced today that Davonte Sconiers, Allejo Walters and six other individuals have been charged in seven different indictments by a Queens County grand jury after an 18-month-long investigation. The defendants have been arraigned in Supreme Court on grand…
FIREFIGHTER INDICTED ON AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE CHARGES IN THE DEATH OF MOTORIST KILLED IN DRUNK DRIVING CRASH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that FDNY firefighter John DaSilva, 31, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter and other crimes. The defendant is accused of being drunk when he drove and slammed into a vehicle, killing the…
ACTOR INDICTED BY QUEENS GRAND JURY FOR MURDER IN JAMAICA SHOOTING DEATH
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Isaiah Stokes, 41, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court for murder and other crimes for the fatal shooting of a Queens Village man who sat in a parked vehicle in Jamaica, Queens this past February 2021. District Attorney Katz said,…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ: BORO-WIDE OVERDOSE DEATHS SURGED DURING PANDEMIC
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today said drug overdose deaths in Queens County surged during the Covid pandemic, echoing recently-released national data. DA Katz said, “In 2020, there were 391 overdose deaths, a 45.5 percent increase over 2019, when there were 268 overdose deaths. There is no question that the pandemic, which fueled a national…
BRONX MAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME FOR ASSAULT AFTER USING HOMOPHOBIC AND RACIAL SLURS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Ramon Castro, 55, has been charged with assault as a hate crime and other charges for slashing a man in the face after using homophobic and racial slurs. The incident took place on July 6, 2021 near a subway train station in Flushing, Queens. District Attorney Katz…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON MURDER CHARGES IN SHOOTING DEATH OF 10-YEAR-OLD FAR ROCKAWAY BOY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jovan Young, 29, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury on murder and other charges for the shooting death of a 10-year-old boy and the non-fatal shooting of another man. The shootings took place on June 5, 2021, in Far Rockaway, Queens. District Attorney Katz said,…
SECOND DEFENDANT INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON MURDER CHARGES IN SHOOTING DEATH OF MAN IN LONG ISLAND CITY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Khalik Berry has been indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court for murder and other crimes in the shooting death of a 33-year-old Queens man near the Queensbridge Houses on May 10, 2021. A co-defendant was arraigned last week. District Attorney Katz said,…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED FOR STASH OF FIREARMS FOUND IN FAR ROCKAWAY HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Ashram Lochan has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on weapon charges. As alleged, after the execution of a search warrant, police found several illegal firearms in his Edgemere, Queens, home. District Attorney Katz said, “This defendant is alleged to…
DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ JOINS NYPD COMMISSIONER SHEA TO ANNOUNCE EXPANSION OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS PROGRAM IN QUEENS [PHOTO]
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today joined NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea and Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Bill Chong to announce the expansion of 17 new Saturday Night Lights (SNL) program sites in Queens County, an important step in increasing access to this public initiative that is focused on youth development and violence…
BROOKLYN RESIDENT INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES FOR SHOOTING AND KILLING MAN AFTER FOOT CHASE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rayshawn Cherry, 27, has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on murder charges. The defendant allegedly shot a man to death in St. Albans, Queens, on June 11, 2021. District Attorney Katz said, “As alleged, this defendant used a firearm to…
QUEENS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN STABBING DEATH OF HALF-BROTHER IN 2020
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Wkorasky Voltaire, 30, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the May 2020 stabbing death of his half-brother in Queens Village, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “This was a senseless act of violence. The defendant chased down his younger sibling and brutally stabbed him to death. The defendant…
BRONX RESIDENT INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON MURDER CHARGES IN SHOOTING DEATH OF QUEENS MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Darrius Saunders, 28, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court for murder and other crimes for the shooting death of a 33-year-old Queens man on May 10, 2021, in Long Island City, Queens, near the Queensbridge Houses. District Attorney Katz said,…
SUSPENDED LAWYER CHARGED WITH BILKING HOME BUYERS OUT OF MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN DOWN PAYMENTS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that suspended lawyer Freddie Berg, of the Berg Law Firm LLC, has been charged with grand larceny, conspiracy and other crimes for allegedly conning nearly two dozen would-be home buyers out of their down payments between September 2016 and December 2018. District Attorney Katz said, “This defendant is…
QUEENS RESIDENT SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR BRUTAL ASSAULT OF QUEENS MOTHER IN KEW GARDENS HILLS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Ronald Williams, 24, has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to assault and attempted sexual abuse for attacking a 52-year-old woman on April 30, 2018 in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “This was a vicious attack on a woman just moments after she…
COUPLE INDICTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING TEENAGE GIRL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jamael “Tiny Biz” Whittingham and Shaneya “China” James have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on sex trafficking of a child, promoting prostitution and other crimes. The couple allegedly arranged for strangers to have sex with the minor in Queens,…
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