Raging Drug Suspect
Assaults Two Astoria Cops

A man arrested on a misdemeanor drug charge went into a rage while cops at the 114th Precinct were processing him on December 6.
Peter Duncan, 45, was arrested when cops spotted him smoking marijuana outside a home on 12th Street in Long Island City at about 6 p.m. on December 6, police said.

Duncan flew into a rage while an officer at the Astoria Boulevard stationhouse was trying to fingerprint him. He jerked around and started choking the cop, police said. When a second officer intervened, Duncan slugged him in the chest.
Duncan was charged with multiple counts of assaulting a police officer.

Police said the two officers were not seriously injured in the assault.

Cops Seek Tips In L.I.C. Artist Murder

Queens detectives are asking for help from the public to solve the brutal murder of a Long Island City artist whose body was found in a pool of blood in her 10th Street apartment on December 12.

Friends who went to check on Susan Woods found her lying on the kitchen floor of her second-floor apartment at about 10:45 a.m. on Saturday. Woods, 49, had been stabbed multiple times in her back and torso and her neck was wrapped with packing tape, police said.
Woods, a self-described “public environmental artist”, failed to return phone calls from the friends who made the grisly discovery.

“They said it wasn’t like her to take more than two days to return a call,” police sources said. “They decided to go and check on her.”
Workers at a local bakery told police one of Woods’ friends came running from the building Saturday morning screaming, “Call 911! My friend is dead!” Workers said the friends were crying hysterically as they emerged from the building.
“They kept screaming about all the blood on the kitchen floor,” the workers said.

Investigators are eyeing Woods’ ex-boyfriend as a potential suspect in the murder. “They believe this was a domestic violence murder,” police sources said. “The ex-boyfriend has a history of domestic violence with the victim.”

Sources said Woods had moved on and was living with another man and her “ex” saw them together just last week.
Friends said Woods, an “artistic sculptor”, was divorced and the mother of a son. “She moved into the loft apartment when she left Massachusetts following the divorce,” the friends said. “She had a Web site where she showcased her work, and she loved to walk her dog through the neighborhood.”

Woods’ friends took the small black poodle with them when they left on Saturday evening.
Police are urging anyone with information on a possible suspect to call the Crimestoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. The Hotline is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

Hunt Astoria Bandit

Queens detectives are searching for an armed bandit who held up an Astoria food market on November 30.
Police said the suspect walked into the market at 40-11 28th Ave. on November 30 and demanded cash from a terrified clerk. The clerk complied and handed over an undisclosed amount of cash to the bandit, who fled in an unknown direction.
No one was injured in the incident, police said.
Police are asking anyone with information 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 a suspect.

FDNY Issues Bedbug Gasoline Warning

Queens fire officials are warning residents not to use gasoline or gasoline products if the bedbugs bite.
FDNY officials said several Astoria residents called 911 over the past few months after they smelled gasoline coming from adjacent apartments. Firefighters responding to the calls found that residents had poured gasoline on mattresses to kill bedbugs and had even wiped the flammable liquid on their arms and their children’s to stop the bugs from biting.

The incidents prompted FDNY officials to issue a stern warning about possibly fatal consequences that could result from the practice.
Fire sources said gasoline is a highly explosive compound that could ignite and “pop” from something as simple as flicking a light switch. Fire officials are advising residents to notify their landlords or seek help from professional exterminators to rid their apartments of bedbugs or other insects or rodents.

Queens residents are urged to call “311” for assistance from the NYC Health Department, fire officials said.