FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 22, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Vandal destroys religious statues at Forest Hills church
BY ZACHARY GEWELB
zgewelb@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Police are investigating an act of vandalism
Photos courtesy of the Diocese of Brooklyn
Edgemere man indicted in shooting death of 10-year-old boy
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
An Edgemere man has been indicted by
a grand jury on murder and other charges
in the shooting death of 10-year-old Justin
Wallace, according to Queens District
Attorney Melinda Katz.
Jovan Young, 29, of Beach Channel
Drive, was arraigned before Queens
Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise on
a three-count indictment Th ursday, July
15, charging him with murder in the second
degree, assault in the fi rst degree and
criminal possession of a weapon in the
third degree.
According to the charges, on Saturday,
June 5, at just aft er 9:30 p.m., video surveillance
allegedly shows Young approach
the home on Beach 45th Street and fi re
multiple shots directly into the home.
Bullets went through the entrance’s
screen door, striking Wallace and his uncle
inside the residence. A bullet ripped into
Wallace’s abdomen while the uncle was
stuck twice, once in the neck and hand.
Young surrendered to authorities at the
101st Precinct in Far Rockaway on June 8.
“A community is still reeling from this
family’s unfathomable loss to gun violence,”
Katz said. “As alleged, the defendant
fi red multiple times into an occupied
house without any concern for the lives
he was putting in danger, murdering a
10-year-old boy and wounding the child’s
uncle. He now faces justice in the courts,
and we must do all that we can to end the
cycle of violence causing so much grief in
our neighborhoods.”
Th e defendant was remanded and
Justice Aloise set Young’s next court date
for Sept. 16. If convicted, he faces up to 25
years to life in prison.
that left two religious statues
destroyed at Our Lady of Mercy Roman
Catholic Church in Forest Hills early
Saturday morning, July 17.
According to the Diocese of Brooklyn,
at approximately 3:30 a.m. on July 17,
the two statues were were dragged 180
feet across 70th Avenue, where they were
smashed with a hammer. Earlier this
week, the statues — one of the Blessed
Mother and one of St. Th erese the Little
Flower — had been toppled over, but
not damaged on Wednesday, July 14,
according to the Diocese.
Th e individual involved in both acts of
vandalism is believed to be the same person,
according to the Diocese.
“Both of these statues have stood in
front of the church since it was built. It
is heartbreaking, but sadly it is becoming
more and more common these days,” said
Father Frank Schwarz, pastor of Our Lady
of Mercy Roman Catholic Church. “I pray
that this recent rash of attacks against
Catholic churches and all houses of worship
will end, and religious tolerance may
become more a part of our society.”
Police on Sunday, July 18, released video
of the suspect vandalizing the statues. Th e
video shows the suspect repeatedly slamming
the statues to the ground, causing
them to break. Th e suspect then fl ed the
scene.
Police say the suspect is a woman in
her mid-20s, with a medium complexion,
average build and was last seen wearing all
black clothing.
Th e NYPD’s Hate Crimes Unit and the
112th Precinct are investigating the incident.
Anyone with information in regard 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 the Crime Stoppers
website at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on
Twitter @NYPDTips.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Jovan Young was indicted by a Queens grand jury for murder charges in the shooting death of
10-year-old Justin Wallace in Edgemere last month.
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