12 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 25, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY JACOB KAYE AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
111th Precinct
Bayside, Douglaston, Little
Neck, Auburndale, Hollis Hills
and Fresh Meadows
Police fi nd 86-year-old
Auburndale man dead in home
following wellness check
Police are investigating the death of an
86-year-old Auburndale man who was
found dead in his home on the aft ernoon
of Th ursday, Feb. 18, following a wellness
check.
Police were responding to a 911 call on
Feb. 18 from a friend who had not heard
from James Murphy in a few days, and
went to his house on 194th Street near
50th Avenue just aft er 3 p.m.
When they arrived, the FDNY removed
the door to the man’s home and found
him unconscious and unresponsive.
EMS personnel pronounced Murphy
dead at the scene and the medical examiner
is investigating his cause of death.
Reports speculated that a nearby space
heater was involved as the man had allegedly
suff ered burns and the rocking chair
he was in had burn marks as well.
Th e investigation is ongoing.
109th Precinct
Downtown Flushing, East
Flushing, Queensboro Hill,
College Point, Malba,
Whitestone, Beechhurst and Bay
Terrace
Cops seek duo who posed
as police offi cers in Malba
Police are looking for two men who
posed as police offi cers in Malba last
month.
On Tuesday, Jan. 26, around 9:15 p.m.,
a 63-year-old woman got a knock on the
door of her home, located near North and
Malba drives, according to the NYPD.
She answered the door to fi nd two men,
sporting star-shaped shields, announcing
themselves as police offi cers and asking to
speak with a person who didn’t live in the
home, cops said.
Th e woman’s son followed her to the
door and, believing the two men were
lying, shut the door in their faces, according
to the police.
Th e imposters then left the home and
drove off in a white pickup truck driven
by a third person.
Police describe both men as being in
their 30s. One man is described as having
a beard and was last seen wearing a black
jacket and khaki pants, cops said. Th e
other is described as having a slim build
with a mustache and was last seen wearing
a black hooded sweater and dark-colored
pants.
103rd Precinct
Jamaica Business District, Hollis Park Gardens,
Hollis, Lakewood and Jamaica
Police recover inert grenade
inside Jamaica home
Offi cers from the 103rd Precinct discovered a smoke grenade
aft er being called to investigate a suspicious object in
Jamaica on the morning of Th ursday, Feb. 18.
A man walked into the 103rd Precinct at approximately
9:18 a.m. on Feb. 18 to report he had found a grenade in a
basement that he was cleaning out, according to the authorities.
Th e man had been cleaning the basement at a home on
Glassboro Avenue between 139th Street and 140th Street
when he found the grenade.
FDNY and the NYPD’s Bomb Squad arrived at the scene
to process the device and determine if it was live or not and
concluded that the item was an inert multi-shell smoke grenade,
according to NYPD.
Because the grenade was found to be inert, a police
spokesperson said there will be no further investigation.
No arrests have been made and the
investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information in regard to
the identity of the suspects 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 the
CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.
com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
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