Queens Gazette

Crime Watch



Gunman Misses Target, Fires Into Sunnyside Library

Police are searching for a crazed gunman who opened fire on another man on Saturday afternoon, missing his target and instead blasting at least one round through a window at the Sunnyside Library branch at 43-06 Greenpoint Avenue.

Cops said the two men were involved in a shouting match outside an apartment building at 44-08 47th Avenue in Sunnyside just before 1:30 p.m. on July 24th – one block from the library.

When the shouting stopped, the 49-year-old intended victim walked away in the direction of the library, police said. The shooter jumped into a gray-colored Toyota that was parked nearby and followed the man along Greenpoint Avenue, opening fire as the man walked outside the library.

The round missed the man and instead shattered a window in the library’s “Teen Room,” which was empty at the time, a Queens Public Library spokesperson said. The library was closed for the remainder of the day as detectives investigated the scene, where they recovered one round and a shell casing, a police source said.

Police described the suspect as a shirtless black male, who fled westbound on Greenpoint Avenue in the Toyota, bearing New York State license plate number PNN9796. An investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspect is urged to call the CrimeStoppers HOTLINE at 1-800-577-TIPS or click on www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. The hotline is offering a reward of up to $2,500 to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

 

Man Charged in Woodside Road Rage Shooting

A 36-year-old Queens man is facing attempted murder, weapons and assault charges for allegedly shooting a motorist in a road rage incident in Woodside on July 15th.

Cops said Champ Richardson and another motorist got into a heated argument at about 7:30 p.m., while waiting at a traffic signal on Queens Boulevard near 65th Place in Woodside. The two men shouted at each other for a few minutes before the victim jumped out of his Chevrolet HHR, walked over to Richardson’s gray Nissan Altima, punched Richardson through an open driver’s side window and headed back to the Chevy, police said.

An enraged Richardson jumped from the Nissan, gun in-hand. and opened fire, striking the victim in the stomach, police said. Richardson then jumped back into the Nissan and sped away from the scene.

The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center where his was listed in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.

It is unclear what sparked the violent incident, an NYPD spokesperson said. An investigation is ongoing.

 

Violence Strikes Twice at 7-Eleven

Police responded two times last week to violent incidents at a 7-Eleven store on Northern Boulevard in Dutch Kills, authorities said.

Cops first responded to the convenience store at 34-17 Northern Boulevard at about 6:30 a.m. on July 18th, when a man flashing a knife demanded cash from a 39-year-old female worker, police said.

When the worker refused to comply, the man ran empty-handed out of the store, and fled into a nearby entrance of the 36th Street subway station, police said There were no injuries.

Police were called to the scene a second time just after noon on July 22nd, after a man entered the store and started shouting threats at customers, the NYPD spokesperson said.

NYPD Emergency Service officers were able to calm the man and escort him to NY Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell, for psychiatric evaluation, police said. There were no injuries.

Police said the two incidents were not related.

 

Hunt Suspect in Senior Attack

Police are searching for a heartless suspect who slashed a Sunnyside senior in the head, stabbed him in the torso and swiped his electric scooter just after midnight on July 24th.

Cops said the suspect approached the 61-year-old victim outside a Rite Aid Pharmacy at 46-12 Greenpoint Avenue at about 1:30 a.m. and demanded that he hand over the scooter. When the victim refused, the suspect pulled a knife, slashed the man in the neck and stabbed him in the torso and ran off with the scooter, police said.

The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center where he was listed in stable condition.

The suspect is described the suspect as a Hispanic male, 5-feet, 7-inches-tall and about 150 pounds with short, dark hair and a moustache.

Anyone with information is urged to call the CrimeStoppers HOTLINE at 1-800-577-TIPS or click on www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

 

Dirt Bike Driver Charged in Toddler Hit-Run

A 29-year-old Whitestone man charged with slamming his dirt bike into a Queens 4-year-old inside Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on July 18th and fleeing the scene, ranted in a Tik Tok post following the incident that it was “the kid’s fault,” police said.

Cops arrested Argenis Rivas after receiving a tip about the hit-run, an NYPD spokesperson said. Rivas was arrested by members of the NYPD Regional Fugitive Task Force on July 21st, the spokesperson said.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Rivas has been arraigned on a complaint charging him with second-degree felony assault, leaving the scene of an incident, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving and unlicensed driving of a motor vehicle.

Katz said, according to the charges, that at about 5:45 p.m. on July 18th, Rivas was operating a motorized scooter at a high speed in the crowded Meadow Lake Boat Rental parking lot inside Flushing Meadows-Corona Park when he plowed into four-year-old Jonathan Beauchamps, who was playing nearby. The little boy fell to the ground unconscious, bleeding from the head, and was having difficulty breathing, Katz said. The child sustained severe head trauma and initially required a tube to breathe.

Rivas fled the scene after striking the boy, police said.

Police offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to Rivas’ whereabouts – which resulted in the tip that led to his arrest, a police source said.

Rivas blamed the little boy and his parents for the incident in his ranting TikTok post. “It’s the kid’s fault. And it’s the parent’s fault because they weren’t paying attention to their son,” Rivas said.

Rivas was arraigned on the charges on July 23rd in Queens Supreme Court, where he was held without bail. He faces up to 7 years in prison, if convicted.

“What began as a recreational Sunday in the park turned into a nightmare for a Queens family,” Katz said. “The city has seen an unacceptable increase in defiant drivers of all types of vehicles driving illegally and hurting people. It is time we stand together to prevent further harm.”

Jonathan remained hospitalized as of July 27th, a police source said. “He’s recovering. The tube was removed shortly after he arrived at the hospital and he has been asking to go home,” the source said. “He is a very lucky little boy.”

 

Firefighter Charged in Fatal DWI Death

An FDNY Firefighter has been indicted and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court in the June 2020 motor vehicle death of a Jackson Heights man, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

Firefighter John DaSilva, 31, was arraigned on a nine-count indictment charging him with aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and misdemeanor aggravated driving while intoxicated in the June 30, 2020, death of Grady Romero-Duarte on 35th Avenue near 95th Street in Jackson Heights, Katz said.

Katz said, according to the charges, at about 12:23 a.m. on June 30, 2020, DaSilva was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee at approximately 64-mph, heading eastbound on 35th Avenue toward 95th Street in Jackson Heights when the Jeep barreled into Romero-Duarte’s car as the victim was making a left turn onto 35th Avenue from 95th Street.

The force of the impact sent the victim’s 2017 BMW spinning counter- clockwise, colliding with four unoccupied, parked cars on 35th Avenue, Katz said. “DaSilva’s jeep went on to strike a fifth parked vehicle before stopping near the southeast corner of 35th Avenue and 95th Street.”

According to an investigation, a medical professional secured a blood sample at the time, which allegedly showed DaSilva had a blood alcohol level of 0.22 – nearly three times the legal limit in New York City, Katz said.

Both DaSilva and Romero-Duarte were taken to a local hospital where Romero-Duarte was pronounced dead a short while later.

“Because of the defendant’s alleged recklessness and selfish choices, another driver is dead, and his loved ones left mourning a senseless loss of life,” Katz said.

DaSilva is facing up to life in prison, if convicted.

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