Archive for August 2023
MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AND RAPE IN ROOFTOP ATTACK ON WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jerson Vasquez was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned on attempted murder, rape and other charges for allegedly arranging to meet a woman for p...
TWO QUEENS MEN CHARGED WITH POSSESSING ARSENAL OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS AND STOCKPILE OF AMMUNITION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Christopher Lall and Steve Salamalay were charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon after search warrants executed at their h...
Your Weekly Update - August 24, 2023
Fairness in the criminal justice system means we must re-evaluate cases when credible new evidence of actual innocence or wrongful conviction emerges. I filed motions this week with defense attorneys ...
BROOKLYN MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 2011 RIDGEWOOD MURDER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Gerald Griffin was sentenced today to 25 years-to-life in prison for the murder of a 31-year-old man found naked and bludgeoned in 2011 in his Ridg...
AFTER EXHAUSTIVE INVESTIGATIONS, DA KATZ MOVES TO VACATE THREE WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz filed motions today with defense attorneys to vacate three wrongful convictions.
In each case, new evidence came to light: In the case of Earl Walters, fingerpr...
TEACHER CHARGED WITH RAPE OF 14-YEAR-OLD STUDENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Melissa Rockensies, a New York City public school teacher, was charged with rape for an alleged sexual relationship with a 14-year-old male s...
MAN CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR WHITESTONE ATTACK ON BLACK LIVES MATTER DEMONSTRATORS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Frank Cavalluzzi was convicted of nine counts of attempted murder for attacking peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators in June 2020, first charg...
MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER IN ASTORIA ATTACKS BY SKATEBOARDER WIELDING BASEBALL BAT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Matthew Lloyd was arraigned today on charges of attempted murder and assault for allegedly clubbing two men with a metal baseball bat he wielded wh...
SEXUAL PREDATOR SENTENCED FOR RAPING CHILD RELATIVE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Julio Fernando Pina-Illescas was sentenced to 17.5 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting a child relative over the course of 10 years, be...
Your Weekly Update - August 18, 2023
The Merchants Business Improvement Program, created by my office in conjunction with the NYPD and local business owners to combat retail theft and repeat shoplifting, has seen positive results since i...
MAN CHARGED WITH RAPE AND ASSAULT IN ROOFTOP ATTACK ON WOMAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jerson Vasquez was arraigned on charges of rape, robbery and assault for allegedly arranging to meet a woman for paid sex and then viciously attack...
MANHATTAN MAN SENTENCED TO 13 YEARS FOR KIDNAPPING IN BOTCHED RICHMOND HILL HOME INVASION
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Tex Ortiz was sentenced today to 13 years in prison for a kidnapping in which five people – including a 9-month-old – were held at gunpoint during ...
DISTRICT ATTORNEY KATZ ANNOUNCES PILOT INITIATIVE TO FIGHT RETAIL THEFT WILL EXPAND ACROSS QUEENS
Program’s Success in Jamaica, Flushing and Astoria Leads to Expansion
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and the NYPD announced the borough-wide expansion of the Merchants Business Improvement Pro...
Your Weekly Update - August 11, 2023
I announced a 50-count grand jury indictment this week against a doctor charged with sexually abusing three patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens hospital and drugging and raping three other women i...
NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR INDICTED IN MURDER OF 10-YEAR-OLD BOY IN FAR ROCKAWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ashram Lochan was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with murder in connection with a 2021 shooting, apparently sparked by a dispute ove...
BRONX MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN SMOKE SHOP SHOOTING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Albert Edwards was arraigned on charges of murder, robbery and weapon possession in the March 18 robbery of a Richmond Hill smoke shop during which...
QUEENS WOMAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR TRAFFICKING ILLEGAL FIREARMS USING THE IRON PIPELINE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jessica Heyliger was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for heading a ring that sold guns and ammunition brought to Queens from the south via th...
DOCTOR CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ASSAULTING PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL, RAPING ACQUAINTANCES AT HIS HOME
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng was arraigned today on a 50-count indictment charging him with sexually abusing three patients at New York-Presbyterian Queens h...
Your Weekly Update - August 4, 2023
I had the pleasure of taking part in six National Night Out events on Tuesday. It was great to see so many families, children and seniors enjoying an evening of games, food, refreshments and music... ...
QUEENS WOMAN INDICTED IN FATAL CRASH THAT KILLED ONE, SERIOUSLY INJURED ANOTHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Semone Douglass was arraigned today on an indictment charging her with manslaughter, assault and leaving the scene in connection with a high-speed ...
QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDERING HIS MOTHER AND BROTHER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Roscoe Danielson was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with two counts of murder and concealment of a human corpse in connection with t...
BRONX WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER FOR HIGH-SPEED CRASH THAT KILLED PASSENGER IN UBER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Melissa Rodriguez-Lopez was arraigned today on an indictment charging her with murder and manslaughter for a high-speed car crash that killed a pas...