12 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 1, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY EMILY DAVENPORT, ANGELA MATUA AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
103rd Precinct
Jamaica
Mom helps turn in Jamaica
stabbing suspect
Police have arrested a man who allegedly
stabbed and robbed his victim in
Jamaica last week thanks to the discipline
of the suspect’s mother.
Pursuant to an active investigation,
19-year-old Jeff Platel was arrested on Jan. 29
at approximately 7:15 p.m. Th e Springfi eld
Gardens resident is being charged with
attempted murder and robbery.
According to sources familiar with the
investigation, the suspect’s mother saw
the media coverage of the incident and
brought her son into the 103rd Precinct
to turn himself in.
Th e incident took place on Jan. 21 at
approximately 4:48 a.m., police said, the
27-year-old male victim was walking in
the vicinity of 90th Avenue and 148th
Street when he was approached from
behind by the suspect.
Law enforcement sources said Platel
allegedly demanded the victim’s property.
When the victim tried to run away, police
said, the suspect tackled him from behind
and stabbed him three times in the torso
with an unknown sharp object.
Th e perpetrator then grabbed the victim’s
backpack and fl ed eastbound on
90th Avenue, police said. Among the
items in the backpack were a laptop and a
pair of headphones.
Th e victim was taken to Jamaica
Hospital in critical but stable condition.
WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO.
“Old World Craftsmanship”- With Over 40 Years of Reliable Service.
Basement Waterproofing Brickwork
Exposed "Aggregate Concrete”
Pavers • Masonry
For More Information Contact: Arthur DiBiase
Mason Contractor 718-767-0072
Licensed (# 808097) & Insured.
110th Precinct
Corona and Elmhurst
Charges dropped against
contractor in Elmhurst blaze
Prosecutors have declined to pursue
charges against a contractor arrested following
a fi ve-alarm inferno last year at
the Elmhurst apartment house in which
he worked.
Declan McElhatton, 53, who worked at
Maintenance Asset Management in Yonkers
was arrested on April 12, one day aft er the
blaze inside a seven-story dwelling on 94th
Street near 56th Avenue. Numerous families
were displaced as a result of the damage.
Fire marshals charged McElhatton aft er
determining that an open fl ame left near
combustible material inside the building had
started the blaze. Flames then quickly spread
through the upper fl oors of the structure.
McElhatton was facing prosecution on
charges of arson and reckless endangerment.
However, at a Jan. 16 court hearing,
Assistant District Attorney Charissa
Ilardi asked Judge Suzanne Melendez to
drop the charges.
“While we do believe there was probable
cause for the fi re marshals to make
the arrest, aft er a lengthy investigation, at
this time, we do not believe we are able
to prove this case beyond a reasonable
doubt,” Ilardi was quoted in a transcript
of the hearing that Th e Courier received.
Melendez then dismissed the case against
McElhatton and released his bail.
Matthew Galluzzo, McElhatton’s attorney,
said in a letter to Th e Courier that his client
“is beloved by the managers of the buildings
with whom he works, and his character and
integrity are beyond reproach.”
111th Precinct
Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck
Woman hit by train near
Bayside LIRR stop
A woman died of her injuries on Jan.
25 aft er she was hit by an oncoming train
while walking on the tracks near a Bayside
train station, it was reported.
According to the NYPD, at around
12:30 a.m. on Jan. 25, the unidentifi ed
woman was struck by a Long Island Rail
Road train on the westbound track just
east of the Bayside station, located at 41st
Avenue and Bell Boulevard.
Emergency personnel responded to the
location and declared the victim dead at
the scene. Th e MTA police has identifi
ed the victim as 27-year-old Courtney
Shayna Lee of Bayside.
Th e New York Daily News reported
that service from the Port Washington
branch was temporarily suspended aft er
the incident. Th ere were no other reported
injuries from the incident.
Th e investigation is ongoing.
114th Precinct
Astoria & Long Island City
Creep wanted for molesting
Astoria woman
Police are asking for the public’s assistance
in fi nding a man who is wanted for
forcibly touching a woman on an Astoria
street in December.
On Dec. 18 at approximately 11:05
p.m. the suspect approached a 31-yearold
woman in front of an apartment
building at Ditmars Boulevard and 38th
Photo by Robert Stridiron
Street. He then put his hand up the woman’s
skirt and touched her “private parts,”
police said.
Law enforcement sources describe the
suspect as a Hispanic male, approximately
5 feet, 7 inches, 160 pounds with brown
eyes and black hair. He was last seen
wearing a T-shirt, dark-colored jeans,
black sneakers and he carried a blue coat.
Anyone with information in regards to
this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s
Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS
(8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA
(74782). Th e public can also submit their
tips by logging onto nypdcrimestoppers.
com or by texting their tips to 274637
(CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls
and messages are kept confi dential.
Woodhaven man cuff ed
for R.H. murders
A Woodhaven man has been charged
with murdering two men aft er police
connected his gun to both shootings.
Neville Brown, 37, of 97th Street was
arrested by state police in Dutchess
County, NY, and charged with murder.
Sources familiar with the investigation
believe the two homicides were
drug related.
According to police, on Dec. 19 at 3:20
a.m., offi cers from the 102nd Precinct
responded to a 911 call regarding a
male shot while sitting inside of a vehicle
in front of a home on 125th Street in
Richmond Hill, across from Phil Rizzuto
Park.
Upon their arrival, police found
21-year-old Dail Ramessar sitting in the
driver’s seat of the vehicle, unconscious
and unresponsive, with gunshot wounds
to the chest.
EMS responded to the scene and transported
Ramessar to Jamaica Hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
Around one month later, on Jan. 16
at 9:21 p.m. offi cers from the 106th
Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding
an assault on 135th Street in
Richmond Hill. Upon arrival, offi cers
found 19-year-old Omaree Morrison
with multiple gunshot wounds in his
torso.
EMS responded to the scene and transported
Morrison to Jamaica Hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
Police were able to connect Brown
to the murders through ballistic evidence
in both cases. Following an ongoing
investigation, state police arrested
Brown in the upstate town of Fishkill,
NY.
Brown was brought back to Queens
and charged with murder and criminal
possession of a weapon. According
to police, he has 20 prior arrests dating
back to 1998.