12 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY BILL PARRY AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
114th Precinct
Astoria, Long Island City,
Woodside and Jackson Heights
Police search for group
suspected of causing
dangerous incident
at Steinway Street
subway station
Police from the 114th Precinct in
Astoria are searching for a group of fi ve
people they suspect were responsible for
throwing a Citi Bike onto the tracks at
the Steinway Street subway station on
Sunday, Sept. 19.
In a shocking video that went viral
on social media, an oncoming southbound
R train made contact with the
bike lying on the track in a collision that
caused “signifi cant sparking, damage to
the train” and the subway’s emergency
brake to engage, creating a substantial
risk of injury to straphangers aboard the
train as well as the platform, police said.
Th e NYPD released surveillance video
and photos of the group of four men
and one woman gathered in the vicinity
of Steinway Street and Broadway just
aft er 10 p.m. Th e group proceeded to the
Steinway Street station and one of the
men from the group threw a Citi Bike
down the stairs from the street level to
the station’s mezzanine.
At approximately 10:25 p.m. the
southbound R train ran over the bike on
the tracks. Th e group fl ed the station on
foot and there were no injuries reported
in connection to the incident, according
to the NYPD.
Th e MTA divulged that two trains
hit the bicycle or parts of bicycle — the
Manhattan-bound R train at 10:22 p.m.
and a Forest Hills-bound R train at 10:25
p.m. Both trains were forced to apply
emergency brakes.
“Th is was an attack on all New Yorkers
that took place in the transit system and
the miscreants who threw that bike in
the path of an oncoming train should
be prosecuted for their reckless disregard
for safety of subway riders and
workers,” MTA spokesman Tim Minton
said. “We’re grateful to the NYPD for its
aggressive 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.
102nd Precinct
Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill
East, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven
and Ozone Park
Two men shot dead within
an hour in Queens
Queens detectives are probing two separate,
deadly shootings that occurred in
less than an hour’s time on the night of
Friday, Sept. 24.
A 20-year-old man died aft er being
shot multiple times in front of a home
near the corner of 102nd Road and 84th
Street in Ozone Park at about 10:46 p.m.
on Sept. 24.
Offi cers from the 102nd Precinct
responded to the location aft er receiving
a 911 call about the shooting, but learned
that the victim had been taken by private
means to Jamaica Hospital.
Law enforcement sources said the victim
suff ered gunshot wounds to the torso
and left leg, but died at the hospital
while undergoing treatment. Police have
withheld his identity, pending family
notifi cation.
Sources familiar with the investigation
learned that the shooter, described only
as a Black man, shot at the victim at the
location before taking off inside a black
four-door sedan. Th e motive remains
unknown at this time.
Detectives attempted to question the
victim before he died, but sources familiar
with the case said he was uncooperative
till the end.
Less than an hour later, cops said, two
men were shot near the Astoria Houses, a
public housing complex at 30-06 Astoria
Blvd., at about 11:10 p.m. on Sept. 24.
According to authorities, Anthony
Edwards, 31, who lived at the complex,
and a 30-year-old man were standing in
front of the location when the suspect
walked up to them and began fi ring.
Police said Edwards took two bullets
to the face. Th e second victim then bolted
from the scene on foot, but the shooter
gave chase.
Cops reported that the gunman fi red
a shot which struck the second victim in
the groin several blocks away, in front of
4-05 Astoria Blvd.
Police said the gunman, described only
as a Black man in a gray hooded sweatshirt,
fl ed the location on foot in an
unknown direction.
Offi cers from the 114th Precinct
responded to the incident. EMS rushed
Edwards to Mount Sinai Queens hospital,
where he was pronounced dead a
short time later.
Th e second victim was brought to
Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition,
police said.
So far, no arrests have been made in
either case, police said.
Anyone with information regarding
the shootings can call Crime Stoppers
at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-
57-PISTA). You can also submit tips
online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org,
or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and
messages are kept confi dential.
106th Precinct
Ozone Park, South Ozone Park,
Lindenwood, Howard Beach and
Old Howard Beach
Reputed Brooklyn gang
member indicted for Christmas
Eve collision that killed
an Ozone Park woman
A Brooklyn man has been indicted by a
Queens grand jury in the hit-and-run collision
that killed a beloved fi gure in the West
Indian Hindu community of South Ozone
Park last year.
Jason Liriano, 23, of Pine Street, was
arraigned Th ursday, Sept. 23, before Queens
Supreme Court Justice Gary Miret on a
four-count indictment charging him criminally
negligent homicide and other crimes
for allegedly crashing into a vehicle and
running away on foot in Ozone Park on
Christmas Eve in 2020.
According to the charges, Liriano was
driving a black Lamborghini Urus SUV
around 7 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2020, when he
allegedly crashed into a Toyota Camry on
103rd Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard.
Ritawantee Persaud, 54, an Indo-Caribbean
vocalist, was riding in the back seat of the
Uber, just blocks from her home. Both she
and the driver were injured in the collision.
Th e driver of the Lamborghini and one
of his passengers quickly exited the vehicle
and fl ed the scene on foot. Another passenger
riding with Liriano was injured and
remained at the crash site, according to the
charges.
Both Persaud and the driver were immediately
transported by EMS to Jamaica
Hospital Medical Center where Persaud
was pronounced dead. Th e driver of the
Uber sustained severe head and body trauma
but survived the injuries.
Born in Guyana, Persaud migrated to
New York in 1999 and immediately found
broad-based acceptance in the West Indian
Hindu community. While she spent her
days as an accountant, all of her evenings
and weekends were spent in the Hindu
community in service projects.
Persaud mentored and schooled both
adults and children in the community and
was always the fi rst to off er a hand to
help those in need, according to Persaud’s
relatives.
Detectives from the NYPD Highway
Patrol arrested Liriano on Th ursday, Sept.
23, calling him a known gang member
“with a long rap sheet.” His arrest was
Liriano’s eighth of the year, according to
the NYPD.
“Behind the wheel of an expensive sports
car, the defendant allegedly drove at a high
rate of speed and hit another car on the rear
passenger side,” Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz said. “As alleged, his careless
driving sadly resulted in the tragic death of
an innocent woman. We all bear a responsibility
on our shared roadways. Th is defendant’s
alleged actions caused heartache and
grief. He will be held accountable in our
judicial system.”
Justice Miret set Liriano’s return date for
Dec. 2. If convicted Liriano faces up to
seven years in prison.
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