Latest news with #MelindaKatz
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Yahoo
N.Y.C. Woman Fatally Shot in Broad Daylight Was 'Shielding' Daughter from Estranged Husband: DA
NEED TO KNOW A New York City man has been arrested on accusation of shooting and killing his estranged wife The alleged shooting happened midday on June 23 St. Albans, Queens Audwin Caines has been charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, and other charges related to the shootingA New York City woman was shot and killed by her estranged husband last month while attempting to shield her adult daughter from the bullets, authorities alleged Friday while announcing charges against the man. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a news release Friday that Audwin Caines had been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and two counts of illegally possessing a weapon. He was also charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, according to the Queens DA's Office. The charges stem from a midafternoon shooting on June 23 when Caines, 62, is alleged to have approached his estranged wife Chaneil Ramsay and her 21-year-old daughter while they were walking down the street. Earlier in the afternoon, investigators allege that Caines texted a photo to Ramsay showing the passenger side window of her car shattered with a brick. About two hours later, Caines allegedly approached Ramsay, 45, and her adult daughter while they were walking down the street, causing the mother and daughter to run away from Caines as he began to fire his weapon at them, officials said. The pair took cover behind a parked vehicle, but Ramsay stood up and rushed at Caines as he got closer, "in an effort to shield her daughter," the DA's office alleged in the release. Caines then opened fire at point blank range, striking Ramsay in the head and body. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Officials also alleged that a year prior, on July 1, 2024, Caines struck Ramsay in the head with a bottle, and then broke the bottle and stabbed her in the chest with it after she asked him to leave their home following an argument. Caines faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison if he's convicted on the charges related to his estranged wife's murder. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Daily Mail
AOC's pimp and prostitute-filled district is FINALLY cleaned up thanks to Trump administration
Eight suspected members of violent migrant gang that plagued Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 's New York City district have been taken down in a major bust. They stand accused of carrying out brutal assaults and stabbings in a takeover of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. The two-mile strip, which is part of the state's 14th congressional district, is frequently dotted with scantily clad women on the litter strewn sidewalks. The area is often filled with street vendors flogging all types of goods. Prosecutors say that seven of the eight are in the US illegally and that all are associates of the 18th Street Gang, a transnational group formed by Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said that those involved had 'unleashed terror' on communities. Gang members are responsible for assaults, extortion, fraud and drug trafficking, according to prosecutors. They were named as Felix Bonilla Ramos, 36, Uriel Lopez, 30, Refugio Martinez, 32, Margarito Ortega, 38, Orlando Ramirez, 24, German Rodriguez, 34, David Vasquez Corona, 29, and Marco Vidal Mendez, 36. They face charges of racketeering conspiracy, including narcotics and firearms trafficking, production and sale of fraudulent identification documents, and extortion. The indictment against the group came after local leaders called for the FBI to step in and clean up the area of sex workers and drug dealers. Several community leaders wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel urging him to put agents on the ground to tackle the issues in April. They said that the infamous Tren de Aragua was wiped out of the area leading to the 18th Street Gang taking over the turf. Authorities say the 18th Street Gang are divided into 'cliques', with the eight arrested part of the '54 Tiny Locos' clique. Officials say the group took over Roosevelt Avenue and pointed to three assaults in the area that they claim to have linked to some members of the group. In December 2021 gang members attacked a man outside of a bar, smashing a glass bottle of tequila across his face leaving him lacerated skin and nerve damage. Then in January 2022 five gang members attacked two victims outside a bar. One of the victims was stabbed while gang members held them in place. The other victim was attacked with wooden planks, again leaving the individual with lacerations that required stitches. Last year, another individual, who they believed to be a gang rival, was beat with a bike lock and a metal chair. They required medical care and stitches to their face. They are facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, including narcotics and firearms trafficking, production and sale of fraudulent identification documents, a fake US passport allegedly made by the group is seen here The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a DOJ initiative aimed at eradicating transnational criminal organizations, combating violent crime, and restoring the rule of law. In a statement Katz said: 'Every resident deserves to feel safe walking down the street, without having to worry about gang violence. 'My office will continue to combat violent criminal enterprises and assist partner investigations to dismantle gangs as they try to establish themselves in our neighborhoods.' An indictment, unsealed last month, came after local leaders blew the whistle on the extent of the damage being done to the area. United States Attorney Joseph Nocella added: 'The 18th Street Gang exploited a Queens neighborhood as a hub for violence and illicit activity. 'Today's arrests show the community that my office and our law enforcement partners are working tirelessly to put these violent criminals behind bars.' Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, announced that crime in the area had dropped by 28 percent since launching a crackdown in the area. Adams had launched a multi-agency enforcement dubbed 'Operation Restore Roosevelt' to tackle sex work and crime in the area. He said: 'This administration wasn't going to tolerate an atmosphere of anything goes. We listened to the community and took action — launching 'Operation Restore Roosevelt' as one of our signature 'Community Link' initiatives. 'Eight months later the results are clear: crime is down more than 28 percent, with double-digit drops in burglaries, assaults, robberies, and more. 'That's not an accident. It's the result of our clear and continuing focus on public safety and quality of life.
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- The Guardian
New York City doctor pleads guilty to sexually abusing patients in hospital
A New York City doctor charged with raping or otherwise sexually abusing several hospital patients and acquaintances has pleaded guilty. Zhi Alan Cheng, a gastroenterologist, acknowledged filming assaults in his apartment and the hospital where he had previously worked, New York-Presbyterian Queens, state prosecutors said in a statement on Monday after his guilty plea. He is expected to receive a 24-year prison sentence from Queens supreme court justice Ushir Pandit Durant at a hearing tentatively set for 28 August. 'The level of violence and perversion displayed by Zhi Alan Cheng in sexually abusing multiple victims is compounded by the fact that he took an oath to do no harm as a medical professional,' said a statement attributed to local district attorney Melinda Katz. The guilty plea resulted from one of several prosecutions of prominent physicians in New York and other parts of the US on allegations they violated patients in medical settings. As prosecutors put it, authorities arrested Cheng on 27 December 2022 on allegations that he had raped a woman whom he knew at his apartment. That woman discovered videos depicting her and other women being assaulted by Cheng, and an attorney of the survivor approached Queens prosecutors with that information. An ensuing investigation led to the seizure of numerous devices containing videos of Cheng sexually abusing unconscious women who were his patients or over at his apartment. Investigators also seized recreational drugs – fentanyl, ketamine, cocaine, LSD and MDMA – as well as powerful medical sedatives, including propofol and sevoflurane. In August 2023, prosecutors obtained a 50-count criminal indictment charging Cheng, who had been held without bail since his arrest. He faced additional charges in an indictment handed up against him in March 2024 after another hospital-related victim came forward. Ultimately, Cheng, 35, pleaded guilty to four counts of rape and three counts of sexual abuse, all in the first degree. He also entered what is known as an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse, which means he maintained his innocence on that charge but conceded overwhelming evidence against him would probably get him convicted at a trial. Four of the survivors involved in the case against Cheng were described as hospital victims, prosecutors said. The rest, prosecutors said, were described as apartment victims. 'I thank the brave victim who initially came forward and exposed this abuse,' Katz remarked in her statement. 'We hope the guilty plea allows all the victims to continue to heal.' Authorities have said that the hospital which had employed Cheng cooperated in the case against the disgraced doctor. 'As caregivers, we are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of our patients. It is a sacred trust. The crimes committed by this individual are heinous, despicable, and a fundamental betrayal of our mission and the patients' trust. We are deeply sorry for all that the victims and their families have endured,' New York-Presbyterian hospital spokesperson Angela Karafazli said in a statement. News of the charges against Cheng came about two weeks after former Manhattan obstetrician-gynecologist Robert Hadden had been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for sexually abusing numerous patients. Back then, Cheng's attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said he recognized 'how serious the charges' against his client were. Lichtman on Monday thanked prosecutors for his client's plea agreement and said: 'The charges to which Mr Cheng has pleaded guilty today are extraordinarily serious.' The Associated Press contributed reporting
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man who pepper-sprayed mom and baby on Queens subway held on $50K bail
The man who allegedly pepper-sprayed a young mother and her baby on an M train in Queens will remain behind bars until he posts bail, authorities said. Cops arrested Edward Vargas, 34, on Thursday. He is accused of dousing a 25-year-old woman and her 11-month-old baby girl with pepper spray, hitting them in the face and arm, last Friday on a southbound M train as the train approached the Court Square-23rd St. station in Long Island City, police said. 'It is particularly outrageous when our children are attacked,' Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. 'As alleged, the defendant chose to retaliate against the victims with pepper spray because he did not get what he wanted. Families have every right to use the subway safely without fear of random violence.' The young woman told police that that Vargas approached her when she was holding her daughter waiting for the train at the 36th St. M and R subway station and asked to borrow her cellphone, according to the criminal complaint against him. But when the woman ignored him, Vargas followed her onto the train and sat right across from her and her baby before pulling a pepper-spray canister from a black bag and spraying her and her little girl with the noxious substance, causing the baby to cry, the complaint states. Afterward, mother and child were left with a burning sensation to the eyes, difficulty breathing and skin irritation, according to the complaint. Vargas, who lives in Astoria, was charged with two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, according to court documents. A judge ordered him held on $50,000 cash bail and $150,000 bond. His next court appearance is July 1. In other recent subway mayhem, a man arrested for allegedly trying to kiss a female straphanger's toes while exposing himself at a Greenwich Village subway station was released one day after being nabbed by police. Dexter Betancourt, 37, was granted supervised release after the offenses were deemed not bail eligible.
New York Post
12-06-2025
- New York Post
3 girls, 16, viciously beat and tase 15-year-old after-school inside NYC subway station: DA
Three 16-year-old girls stomped, beat and even tased a 15-year-old girl inside a Queens subway station last week, prosecutors and sources said. The William Cullen Bryant High School sophomore was heading to the nearby 46th Street M and R train station around 3 p.m. June 2 when the violent crew allegedly followed her, ready to commit what Queens DA Melinda Katz described as 'an outrageous display of bullying and brutality.' The young brutes — part of a mob of teens — cornered the girl on the staircase and repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped on her head, face and body, tased her and tried to steal her backpack, the DA's office said. Advertisement The victim, a student at William Cullen Bryant High School, was heading home when the violent crew ganged up on her, the DA's office said. Google Maps The teen victim was hospitalized after the attack, but is now recovering, officials said. Two of the teens, both juniors at the same school who live in Elmhurst, were arrested and arraigned Tuesday on charges including attempted gang assault, attempted robbery in connection to the attack, prosecutors said. Advertisement Both were placed into an intensive community monitoring program, overseen by probation, the DA's office said. Judge Bruna DiBiase ordered them to return to court June 18, and they could spend 15 years behind bars if convicted. Two of the teens were arraigned on charges including attempted gang assault, attempted robbery in connection to the attack, prosecutors said. Google Maps 'A high school student was mercilessly tased, kicked, punched and stomped on by a mob of fellow students at a train station after dismissal from William Cullen Bryant High School,' Katz said in a statement. 'This will not be acceptable behavior here in Queens and I will hold students accountable for this behavior to the extent the law allows. We are grateful that the victim is recovering. The investigation is continuing into the conduct of other individuals.' Advertisement The third 16-year-old suspect was arrested Thursday, with an arraignment expected later in the day, sources said. The disturbing attack comes as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed that youth violence has skyrocketed in the Big Apple since 2018—and placed the blame on the state's contentious 'Raise the Age' law.
