Knife-Wielding Man Under Psych Watch

 

A 300-pound man who stabbed three passers-by during a bloody rampage in Flushing on January 13 remains under evaluation at Elmhurst Hospital Center.

Police said a surveillance video shows how Joan Purcell, 71, and her husband, John, 78, were accosted by David Williams as they exited an elevator in the lobby of their Flushing apartment building at 147-15 Northern Blvd. at about 9:40 a.m. on January 13.
The video showed Williams plunging a serrated kitchen knife into Joan Purcell’s torso, police said. He then turned and stabbed her husband. The video also displayed the victims walking toward the street, where they eventually collapsed.
Police sources said the video demonstrated Williams straightening his knife against a rail outside the building before stabbing another victim, John Fook, 41, with the same knife. Neighbors said Fook lives around the corner from the Purcells.

The three victims were taken to New York Hospital of Queens, where Joan Purcell is listed in critical condition after undergoing surgery. John Purcell and Fook are listed in serious but stable condition.

A fourth victim, Deraj Maraj, 37, told police Williams walked up and started swinging the knife at her inside the building at about 9:15 a.m. Maraj was punched in the face by Williams after the pair exchanged words, police sources said. Maraj said she walked out of the building to get away from Williams but realized he was following her. She turned a corner and spotted a Traffic Agent, who called police. When Maraj returned to the building with the police to confront Williams, who was nowhere in sight, they all left  the building and continued to search the area for Williams. Moments later, in the video at the Purcell building, Joan and John were shown exiting the elevator, hand-in-hand.

Police caught up with Williams a short while later near his apartment building at 147-25 Northern Boulevard still clutching the bloody kitchen knife.

Williams, who works as a bouncer at a Flushing bar, has a history of two arrests for child molestation, according to law enforcement sources. He obeyed the officers who told him to drop the knife but put up a struggle when they tried to arrest him.

Williams was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center for evaluation and charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

Police sources said Williams was involved in a family dispute just hours before his rampage. He allegedly has a history of psychiatric problems that his mother left untreated.

 

Borough-Wide Blotter

 

Compiled  

107th Precinct
Rowdy Road Test Sparks Lawsuit
A license examiner for the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recently filed a lawsuit charging she suffered serious injuries when an oil truck struck a Queens DMV test vehicle.
Chairiese Harrison charges in the lawsuit that she was unable to work for one full year after the March 2007 collision, when the oil truck slammed into the test vehicle as it slowed to pull into a parking lot.
Harrison charges she suffered a separated shoulder, torn ligaments and nerve damage when the truck, owned by Standard Heating, sped from a side street in Hollis Hills.
 

110th Precinct
Amazin’s Sue Shea Sponsor
New York Mets officials are suing a Canadian marketing firm that has failed to fork over $600,000 in payments for advertising at Shea Stadium.
Vancouver-based Alphatrade signed on as an “Official Sponsor of The New York Mets” in 2007 after agreeing to pay $1,050,000 to place advertising signs at Shea over a two-year period, court records state. The agreement also gave Alphatrade rights to display customized messages on the Pitch Speed scoreboards at Shea according to the lawsuit.
Mets management charges in the lawsuit that Alphatrade failed to meet three, separate partial-payment deadlines for the 2008 season totaling $600,000.
Both Mets management and Alphatrade refused to comment on the lawsuit.
 

112th Precinct
Hunt High-Tech Thieves
Queens detectives are seeking help from the public to identify and locate a band of thieves who broke into the P.C. Richards Appliance Store in Forest Hills on January 9.
Police said four suspects were caught on a store surveillance video forcing open an outside gate to gain entrance to the store at Queens Boulevard and 78th Avenue.
According to the police, the thieves made off with thousands of dollars worth of electronic products and equipment, including surround-sound audio systems, police said. The men can be seen on the video fleeing the scene in a white van.
Anyone with information on the suspects is urged to call the Crimestoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. The Hotline is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.
 

115th Precinct
Need Information On Christmas Eve Murder
Police at the 115th Precinct are searching for clues that will lead them to the gunman who shot and killed a father of two young children on December 24.
Police said Alex Diaz, 30, was tending bar at a crowded party, at the Corona Community Center during the early morning hours of December 24 when an intoxicated guest asked for one more drink. When Diaz refused to serve the drunken man, he pulled a gun and shot Diaz once in the head.
Police at the 115th Precinct responding to a 911 call found Diaz, slumped over the bar at the Community Center on 98th Street. Diaz died minutes after his arrival at Elmhurst Hospital Center.
Police are asking anyone with information on the gunman to call the Crimestoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. The Hotline is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

Transit District 20
Cops, Conductor Nab Duffel Bag Thief
A subway conductor on a Long Island City E train helped transit police bust a thief who stole a duffel bag from a napping straphanger on January 14.
Police said the conductor was working on the subway as it pulled into the Jackson Avenue station at approximately 3 a.m. Wednesday when he spotted Kedric Williams, 53, snatch the bag off the floor in front of the snoozing rider. The conductor alerted transit police who caught up with Williams and arrested him after a brief struggle.

Police recovered the bag and charged Williams with robbery, authorities said.