Archive for June 2020

QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO UP TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR KILLING FEMALE ROOMMATE IN RIDGEWOOD

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 30-year-old Queens resident has been sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter in February. The defenda...
June 11, 2020

COVID-19 and the Opioid Epidemic

As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 – more commonly referred to as COVID-19 – continues to sweep across our country and particularly in our home borough of Queens, we must keep in mind that another epidem...
June 1, 2020

QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR SHOOTING AT POLICE OFFICERS IN FAR ROCKAWAY

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 21-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly firing at cops who sat in a patro...
June 3, 2020

QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ INTRODUCES THE OFFICE’S MAJOR ECONOMIC CRIMES BUREAU

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the creation of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau in her newly reorganized Investigations Division. This Bureau combines the former Organized Crime...
June 8, 2020

STATEMENT OF QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ IN SUPPORT OF REPEALING THE LOITERING LAW IN REGARDS TO PROSTITUTION

District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced her support for a bill that would repeal the crime of loitering for the purposes of prostitution from the New York State Penal Law. Since taking office o...
June 1, 2020

LONG ISLAND MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING OF 7-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM HER FLUSHING HOME

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a 32-year-old Brentwood man has been charged with attempted kidnapping and other crimes for allegedly dragging a 7-year-old girl from her bed...
June 24, 2020

QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ LAUNCHES HATE CRIMES BUREAU

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced a dedicated Hate Crimes Bureau in her newly reorganized Felony Trial Division. This Bureau is one of the first in the nation committed exclusively...
June 15, 2020

Statement Regarding Chokeholds and Other Restraining Techniques

As we have seen recently with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and six years ago right here in New York City with the death of Eric Garner, the use of chokeholds and other holds or restrainin...
June 9, 2020

QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ ANNOUNCES THE OFFICE’S VIOLENT CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES BUREAU

District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the creation of a Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. This Bureau merges the Office’s former Narcotics Investigations Bureau and Gang Violence bureaus. ...
June 22, 2020

DA KATZ: RETIRED POLICE OFFICER WHO ALLEGEDLY FIRED SHOT INSIDE HOWARD BEACH RESTAURANT CHARGED WITH ASSAULT IN THE FIRST DEGREE

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a retired police officer has been charged with assault in the first degree and other crimes for allegedly firing a gun inside a sushi restaur...
June 25, 2020

WHITESTONE MAN SEEN ON VIRAL VIDEOS ATTACKING BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERS WHILE WEARING 4-BLADE KNIFE CLAW CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER IN QUEENS

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the arrest of a 54-year-old Queens man who was allegedly observed on viral videos attacking peaceful demonstrators on Tuesday afternoon in Whitest...
June 4, 2020

QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION WITH DEFENSE TO VACATE CONVICTION OF INNOCENT MAN

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the filing of a joint motion to vacate the murder conviction of Samuel Brownridge, who was incarcerated for more than 25 years for a crime that he...
June 23, 2020

QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ HOSTS BRAVE JUSTICE: INAUGURAL SUMMER INTERNSHIP FOR STUDENTS

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the start of her inaugural summer internship program titled Brave Justice. The internship kicked off this week with the students being welcomed to...
June 17, 2020

QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIMES FOR SHOOTING AT VICTIMS WHO WERE DRIVING IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a Queens man has been charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and other charges after he followed a vehicle that was driving in his nei...
June 8, 2020