May. 7, 2025 By bparry May 7, 2025 By Bill Parry A serial burglar from Jackson Heights was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison Tuesday in Queens Supreme Court for targeting homes across the borough during a three-month crime spree beginning in late 2022. Juan Morales, 45, of 37th Avenue, was convicted…
Apr. 11, 2025 By QNS News Team Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the appointment of six new assistant district attorneys who were sworn into office on March 31. The new hires—graduates of top law schools including Columbia, Harvard, and Cornell—have joined the Queens DA’s Office as part of the Spring 2025 incoming class.…
Mar. 31, 2025 By Bill Parry A notorious Queens squatter was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday for illegally occupying a single-family Flushing home and renting out rooms to other illegal tenants in February 2024. Brian Rodriguez, 36, of 161st Street in East Flushing, pleaded guilty in January to falsely reporting an…
Mar. 24, 2025 By Ethan Marshall and Ramy Mahmoud Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz recently held her annual Women’s History Month celebration on Wednesday, March 19, in the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Building at Queens College, located at 65-30 Kissena Blvd. in Flushing. Co-sponsored by Queens College, the Queens County Women’s Bar Association and the Center for…
Feb. 19, 2025 By Bill Parry Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday the release of surveillance video of the cold case murder of an off-duty Rikers Island correction officer in Springfield Gardens more than four years ago. During the early morning hours of Aug. 15, 2020, 28-year-old NYC Correction Officer John Jeff was…
Feb. 10, 2025 By Bill Parry An alleged burglar from Brooklyn who targeted homes in six Queens neighborhoods was collared by cops out of the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills after they chased him down on the night of Monday, Feb. 3. Zengguo Chen, 35, of 58th Street in the Borough Park section, was…
Jan. 17, 2025 By Bill Parry A Manhattan man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in Queens Supreme Court on Thursday for an execution-style murder of a long-time acquaintance on the Grand Central Parkway in 1990. Kevin Smith, 67, of the Yorkville section on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was found guilty…
Dec. 5, 2024 By Colum Motherway Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and the NYPD have announced the indictment of 11 alleged members after a three-and-a-half-year investigation, entitled ‘Operation: Deadliest Catch,’ into gang violence in Southeast Queens. The alleged members are from the ‘Whole Blocc Boys’ (WBB) and ‘Score On Anything’ (SOA) – two subsets…
Nov. 26, 2024 By Colum Motherway Council Member Robert Holden praised the success of a recent operation targeting illegal scooters and mopeds, which took place on Nov. 19. The operation was a collaboration between the Queens District Attorney’s office, the NYPD’s 104th Precinct, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYS DMV), and…
Nov. 25, 2024 By Czarinna Andres The Queens County Criminal Bar Association (QCCBA) hosted its inaugural dinner and awards night on Thursday, Nov. 21, at Agra Palace in Forest Hills. The event, which marked the association’s first full year of operation, drew approximately 200 members from the Queens County criminal legal community to celebrate…