Archive for May 2026
Your Weekly Update - May 29, 2026
When someone steals a person’s paycheck, they are also stealing their dignity.
This week, my office returned $28,000 in stolen wages to 30 former employees who were exploited by the owner of multiple...
$28,000 IN RESTITUTION RETURNED TO WORKERS CHEATED OUT OF WAGES BY CLEANING COMPANY OWNER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that the office has returned $28,000 in stolen wages to 30 former employees of a cleaning company owner who was convicted earlier this year of failing t...
Your Weekly Update - May 22, 2026
This past weekend, we hosted our 13th gun buyback event at the Southern Baptist Church in East Elmhurst where we collected 108 guns.
These are weapons…(continued).
BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 75 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR UMBRELLA HOTEL SHOOTING IN KEW GARDENS THAT KILLED ONE AND INJURED TWO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Richard Swygert was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison on murder, two counts of attempted murder and related charges for killing one man...
TEENAGER ARRAIGNED ON INDICTMENT FOR MURDER OF 15-YEAR-OLD JADEN PIERRE IN ROY WILKINS PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Zahir Davis was arraigned on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, gang assault and weapon possession for the shooting death...
MORE THAN 1,000 POUNDS OF ILLICIT CANNABIS PRODUCT SEIZED IN BAYSIDE
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the closure of an unlicensed storefront cannabis dispensary operating on Bell Boulevard in Bayside. A court-authorized search of the premises on May...
QUEENS DA, NYPD & NY ATTORNEY GENERAL REMOVE MORE THAN 100 GUNS, INCLUDING ASSAULT WEAPONS, AS PART OF GUN BUYBACK EVENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that 108 guns were collected Saturday at the Southern Baptist Church in East Elmhurst during a gun buyback event. The weapons were exchanged for bank ca...
Your Weekly Update - May 15, 2026
This week my office announced that a Maspeth resident has been indicted on upgraded charges of murder in the first degree and other crimes for setting a fire in March…(continued).
ST. ALBANS MAN CONVICTED OF THREE COUNTS OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER FOR THE STABBING DEATHS OF HIS GIRLFRIEND AND TWO TENANTS IN 2023
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Daniel was convicted by a jury of three counts of murder in the first degree for the stabbing deaths of two tenants and his girlfriend inside...
QUEENS RESIDENT CONVICTED OF MURDER AND ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR TWO-WEEK STABBING SPREE IN 2021 THAT KILLED ONE AND INJURED THREE OTHERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Mark Albano was convicted yesterday by a jury of murder, attempted murder and other crimes for stabbing four men in 2021, killing one on the Grand ...
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO MORE THAN TWO DECADES IN PRISON FOR 2021 SHOOTING IN OZONE PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dwayne Scott was sentenced to 21-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for gunning down a 20-year-old man i...
DEFENDANT CONVICTED OF MURDER FOR SHOOTING DEATH OF ACCOMPLICE ON CROSS BAY BOULEVARD
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Richard Dixon was convicted of murder and other crimes for a June 2022 shooting in Ozone Park that led to the death of his accomplice, Raymond Fran...
WOMAN INDICTED FOR FIRST-DEGREE ARSON AFTER SETTING FIRES AT THREE LOCATIONS IN MASPETH THAT INJURED TWO
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shaniqua Fort was indicted on charges of first-degree arson, reckless endangerment and other crimes for allegedly setting fires at several storefro...
MASPETH MAN INDICTED ON UPGRADED CHARGES OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER FOR SETTING FIRE AT FLUSHING BUILDING THAT KILLED FOUR AND INJURED OTHERS, INCLUDING TWO FDNY MEMBERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Roman Amatitla was indicted on upgraded charges of murder in the first degree along with murder in the second degree, arson in the first degree and...
HOLLIS MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE FOR KILLING PAWN SHOP OWNER DURING 2022 ROBBERY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rodolfo Lopez-Portillo was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally beating Arasb Shoughi during a pawn store robbery in March 2022. The...
QUEENS MAN INDICTED FOR FATAL BAR SHOOTING
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Paublo Torres was indicted on charges of murder in the second degree, assault and other crimes for fatally shooting 34-year-old Denis Enrique Reyes...
Your Weekly Update - May 8, 2026
The 18-year-old who allegedly killed Jaden Pierre in Roy Wilkins Park last month has been indicted on murder, gang assault and weapon possession charges. A second teenager, 16, was apprehended this we...
TEENAGER INDICTED FOR MURDER OF 15-YEAR JADEN PIERRE IN ROY WILKINS PARK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that two defendants have been indicted on charges related to the shooting death and assault of 15-year-old Jaden Pierre during a large gathering of teen...
Your Weekly Updated - May 1, 2026
Defendant Guy Rivera was sentenced to 115 years to life in prison this week for fatally shooting NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller and attempting to shoot…(continued)