12 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 17, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY BILL PARRY
114th Precinct
Astoria, Long Island City,
Woodside and Jackson Heights
New Jersey man busted in
fatal shooting of school
safety agent outside
Astoria nightclub: NYPD
Th e NYPD arrested a New Jersey man
in connection to the fatal shooting of a
school safety agent outside a Steinway
Street nightclub in Astoria on Dec. 23,
2021.
Quasawn Williams, 29, of Guttenburg,
was taken into custody Wednesday,
March 9. He was arraigned that evening
before Queens Supreme Court Justice
Toni Cimino on attempted murder in
the second degree and other crimes in
the shooting that erupted outside the
Stiletto Lounge, killing 27-year-old Mye
Johnson, an NYPD school safety agent
from Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Th e victim was celebrating her birthday
with a twin sister who was also wounded
in the hail of gunfi re along with one of
their friends.
Police from the 114th Precinct in
Astoria responded to a 911 call about the
gunfi re just aft er 4 a.m. and discovered
Johnson with multiple gunshot wounds to
her torso and leg. EMS responded to the
crime scene and rushed the single mother
of a 7-year-old son to nearby Mount Sinai
Queens Hospital, where she died a short
time later.
Johnson’s twin sister was shot in her
left knee and the 27-year-old friend was
wounded in his rear end and left shoulder.
Th ey were transported to Elmhurst Hospital
Center in stable condition.
Williams was also charged with two
counts of criminal possession of a weapon
and was remanded. His next court date
is March 21.
109th Precinct
Downtown Flushing, East
Flushing, Queensboro Hill, College
Point, Malba, Whitestone,
Beechhurst and Bay Terrace
Couple sought in connection
with string of robberies
in Flushing area
Police from the 109th Precinct in
Flushing have been looking for a couple
who broke into a Main Street store in
September 2021 and have determined that
the suspects are connected with a spree of
break-ins across the area.
Authorities say that on Sept. 21, the
suspects broke into the New Happy Home
Furniture Store — located at 43-02 Main
St. — and made off with approximately
$40,000 from a desk.
Th e suspects struck again on Feb. 22,
2022, breaking into a home in the vicinity
of 157th Street and Sanford Avenue in
Murray Hill, where they made off with
$75 worth of clothing, police said. Th ey
struck again three nights later at a store
located near Avery Avenue and Saul Street
in Flushing where it was undetermined if
they removed any property, according to
authorities.
Police said that on the same day, the two
suspects broke into another store on Sanford
Avenue near College Point Boulevard
where they removed $150 from a drawer
and fl ed on foot.
Most recently, the two suspects broke
into a store located near Maple Avenue
and Kissena Boulevard in Flushing on
Tuesday, March 1, just before noon, according
to authorities. Th ey broke through
a secured door and once inside removed
approximately $1,800 from a drawer and
fl ed on foot.
Th e NYPD released surveillance video
from the break-in on Feb. 25. Th e male
suspect, dressed in black and wearing
eyeglasses, can be seen inside an offi ce,
while the female suspect seemed to be
acting as a lookout.
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. All
calls and messages are kept confi dential.
110th Precinct
Corona and Elmhurst
Corona man pleads
guilty to manslaughter
in fatal stabbing of
girlfriend in 2020: DA
Corona resident Edwin Sarmiento on
Friday, March 11, pleaded guilty to manslaughter
in the fi rst degree for stabbing his
girlfriend to death at their Van Cleef Street
apartment in 2020, according to Queens
District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Sarmiento, 31, admitted to killing
30-year-old Juliet Ximena Galindo Puentes
before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth
Holder.
Katz said that around 4:10 a.m. on
Feb. 8, 2020, Sarmiento and the victim
argued inside the bedroom of the residence
they shared. The heated exchange
turned violent when Sarmiento grabbed
a knife and stabbed his girlfriend
numerous times. Sarmiento then went
to the kitchen for an even bigger knife,
broke down a door to access where the
victim attempted to hide and continued
to stab her repeatedly. Sarmiento then
f led the apartment.
He was arrested a short time aft erward
at a nearby gas station in blood-soaked
clothes, carrying a bag fi lled with money,
phones, passports and other belongings,
according to Katz.
EMS rushed Galindo Puentes to a nearby
hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“Th e defendant has now admitted to the
brutal slaying of a young woman,” Katz
said. “Th e victim was stabbed with at least
two diff erent knives and sustained multiple
puncture wounds. At his next appearance,
the court will sentence the defendant to
a lengthy term of incarceration for his
actions.”
Justice Holder set the defendant’s sentencing
for March 25, and he indicated
he will sentence Sarmiento to 24 years in
prison, to be followed by fi ve years of postrelease
supervision.
Photo by Robert Stridiron
Corona resident Edwin Sarmiento pleaded guilty to stabbing his girlfriend to death in their
apartment during an argument in 2020.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
The NYPD arrested a New Jersey man who was charged in the fatal shooting of a school safety
agent outside a Steinway Street nightclub in Astoria last December.
Screenshot via surveillance video
These suspects are wanted in connection with a string of robberies in Flushing.
/WWW.QNS.COM
