Press Releases
CHURCH DEACON CHARGED WITH TRYING TO HAVE ORAL SEX WITH 14-YEAR-OLD BOY HE MET ON GRINDR APP
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rogelio Vega, 50, has been charged with attempted use of a child in a sexual performance and other crimes for allegedly meeting a “teen” with the intent to engage in a sex act. District Attorney Katz said, “This defendant by all outward appearances is a church-going family…
SEPTUAGENARIAN WOMAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED ASSAULT FOR REPEATED POISONING OF HUSBAND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Suncha Tinevra, 70, has been charged with attempted assault and other crimes for allegedly poisoning her husband with an ant and roach killer on more than one occasion inside the couple’s Oakland Gardens home. District Attorney Katz said, “Domestic violence is not limited to mental and physical…
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN STABBING DEATH OF HIS 72-YEAR-OLD FATHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Jaimie Walker, 30, has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of his 72-year-old father. The victim was found Thursday morning in the bathroom of his Queens Village home with multiple stab wounds to his neck. The defendant is additionally charged with criminal mischief for wrecking…
RETIRED POLICE OFFICER INDICTED BY QUEENS GRAND JURY ON ASSAULT CHARGES FOR FIRING WEAPON INSIDE HOWARD BEACH RESTAURANT
Defendant Allegedly Shot Bystander in the Back After Dispute; Faces 25 Years in Prison if Convicted
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH STEALING IDENTITIES OF VICTIMS AND GOING ON CAR-BUYING SPREE
Defendant Allegedly Bought and Leased 11 Vehicles Under Victims’ Names And Received Bonus Pay for Brokering the Scam Deals; The Accused Faces Up to Seven Years in Prison if Convicted
BOSTON RESIDENT CHARGED WITH MAKING TERRORISTIC THREATS; ALLEGEDLY PLANTED A “HOAX DEVICE” BOMB ON CAR IN QUEENS MALL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Louis Shenker, 22, has been charged with making terroristic threats and other felony charges for allegedly planting a fake bomb on top of a car at the Queens Place Mall in Elmhurst, Queens. District Attorney Katz said, “Sadly, we live in a world where terror attacks are…
QUEENS MAN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON MURDER CHARGES APPREHENDED AFTER FLEEING SCENE OF DEADLY SHOOTING
Victim Shot and Killed Allegedly by Accomplice as They Pounced on People in Parked Car: Defendant Faces Up to 25 Years-to-Life in Prison if Convicted
TWO BUSINESS OWNERS CHARGED WITH $2.6 MILLION FRAUD AGAINST NEW YORK STATE INSURANCE FUND
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell and New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro, today announced that Manuel Sanchez and his business Lagos Construction have been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly failing to pay insurance premiums of…
TWO MEN INDICTED BY QUEENS COUNTY GRAND JURY ON KIDNAPPING CHARGES IN BOTCHED HOME INVASION IN RICHMOND HILL
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that defendants Tex Ortiz and Wilbert Wilson have been indicted and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on a 15-count indictment charging them with kidnapping, burglary and other crimes for allegedly taking five people hostage at gunpoint – including a nine-month-old infant – during a botched home invasion in…
SECOND PERSON CHARGED IN HATE CRIME ASSAULT OF MUSLIM FAMILY IN REGO PARK IN NOVEMBER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Eric Leon has been charged with assault as a hate crime and other charges for allegedly attacking a couple outside of their Rego Park home, in front of their two children, on November 6, 2020. District Attorney Katz said, “Perpetrators of hate crimes must be held accountable…
WOMAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME IN REGO PARK ASSAULT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Giselle DeJesus has been charged with assault as a hate crime and other charges for allegedly attacking a couple outside of their Rego Park home in front of their two children on November 6. District Attorney Katz said, “Hate crimes are unacceptable. The defendant allegedly took part…
TIRE AND RIM STREET CREW BUSTED FOR SWIPING EXPENSIVE WHEELS AND LEAVING CARS ON CRATES IN QUEENS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, announced today that Jonathan Pacheco and two others have been variously charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly stealing tires and rims from cars parked on streets in Queens. The pit-stop style strippings occurred throughout the borough, and in…
LONG ISLAND SON INDICTED WITH HIS MOTHER FOR GUNNING DOWN MAN EXTRADITED FROM FLORIDA AND ARRAIGNED ON MURDER CHARGES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Raymond Jackson, 22, who has been on the run since he allegedly shot to death a man in September, has been apprehended and returned to Queens to face charges. The defendant was indicted for murder and other crimes along with his mother, Avita Campbell, who has been…
TWO DRIVERS CHARGED IN SEPARATE DEADLY CRASHES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Christian Carrion-Rivera, 26, has been charged with possessing stolen property and fleeing the scene of an incident without reporting a death for a 9 a.m. car crash on Tuesday. The DA also announced that Jason Bical, 34, has been charged with vehicular assault, drunk driving and other…
STATEMENT BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ
Today, in court, this Office joined in a motion to vacate two significant convictions from over twenty years ago. This decision is based on clear evidence of unconstitutional discrimination in jury selection. Specifically, a set of notes found in the trial files of a single ADA, who resigned from the office in the late 1990s,…
CITING EVIDENCE OF IMPROPER DISCRIMINATION IN JURY SELECTION BY AN ADA IN THE 1990S, QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION WITH DEFENSE TO REVERSE TWO CONVICTIONS
Citing decades-old evidence of improper discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and ethnicity in jury selection, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that she has filed a joint motion with the defense counsel at the law firm Covington & Burling, LLP, to vacate the convictions of Santiago Valdez and Paul Morant. Both men were…
DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN STABBING DEATH OF LONG ISLAND MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that John Daves, 34, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the September 2018 stabbing death of a 25-year-old Long Island man, who was patronizing a food cart in Jackson Heights, Queens when he was attacked. District Attorney Katz said, “A minor dispute while ordering at a food cart escalated…
QUEENS COUNTY GRAND JURY INDICTS HOMELESS MAN IN SHOOTING DEATH OF DELI WORKER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Steven Cohen, 63, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and other charges for allegedly shooting and killing a 26-year-old deli worker on October 26, 2020. District Attorney Katz said, “The…
BRONX MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER IN KNIFE ATTACKS THAT INJURED TWO ELDERLY MEN ON SUBWAY TRAIN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Patrick Chambers has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and was arraigned in Supreme Court on attempted murder charges and other crimes. The defendant allegedly stabbed two elderly men on a subway train in July 2020 in unprovoked attacks. District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant…
COUPLE CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY FOR STEALING MORE THAN $500,000 FROM DEAF, BLIND AND BED-RIDDEN WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Luz and Rosendo Tejeda, of Manhattan, have been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly swindling a disabled woman and her elderly mother out of more than $500,000. The couple is accused of switching bank accounts to have the victim’s monthly annuities deposited into their…
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