12 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 5, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY EMILY DAVENPORT, ANGELA MATUA, SUZANNE MONTEVERDI AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
102nd Precinct
Kew Gardens, Ozone Park,
Richmond Hill, Woodhaven
Traffic stop leads to
drug & gun bust
Blowing a traffic signal proved costly
for an Ozone Park man after cops pulled
him over and found that he had a loaded
gun and various narcotics, police reported.
Law enforcement sources said that
Brandon Rodriguez, 22, was operating
a vehicle that ignored a traffic signal at
the corner of Rockaway Boulevard and
90th Street in Ozone Park at 2:50 p.m. on
March 27.
Officers from the 102nd Precinct Anti-
Crime Unit saw the traffic infraction and
pulled Rodriguez’s vehicle over. Upon
approaching, police said, the officers saw
what appeared to be a controlled substance
in plain sight next to Rodriguez.
This led to further investigation, during
which police found a loaded Sig Sauer
firearm along with large quantities of
marijuana and various amounts of other
drugs including heroin, ecstasy and klonopin,
a prescription drug used to treat
anxiety disorder.
Rodriguez was taken into custody on
charges of criminal possession of a weapon,
criminal possession of a controlled
substance, criminal possession of marijuana
and criminal possession of drug
paraphernalia.
Court records indicated that Rodriguez
was released on $5,000 bond following his
March 28 arraignment. He is due back in
court on April 19.
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108th Precinct
LIC, Maspeth, Sunnyside &
Woodside
Masked business
bandits strike again
A duo wanted for a series of robberies
throughout Woodside and Flushing dating
back to last year have struck again.
According to police, at 12:35 a.m. on
March 30, two unknown men walked
into Northern Deli & Grocery, located at
69-03 Northern Blvd. in Woodside. Once
inside, the first suspect went behind the
counter while the other pulled out a firearm
and demanded cash.
The crooks then put $1,200 in a black
garbage bag and fled northbound on 69th
Street, where they entered a silver vehicle.
Police connected the duo to four previous
robberies in Queens: the Dec. 17,
2017, holdup at a 7-Eleven on Northern
Boulevard in Woodside; the Jan. 4 stickup
at a BP gas station on Francis Lewis
Boulevard in Flushing; the Jan. 15 robbery
at a Woodside Pizza Hut; and the
Jan. 18 holdup at a Flushing deli. During
the Jan. 4 caper, one of the suspects was
seen wearing a Santa Claus hat and beard.
Anyone with information regarding the
robbery pattern or the suspects’ whereabouts
can call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers
Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for
Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public
can also submit their tips by logging on to
nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their
tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
All calls and messages are kept confidential.
109th Precinct
College Point, Flushing,
Whitestone
Thief steals idling SUV,
then torches it
Detectives are looking for a man who
stole an unattended, idling SUV off a
Whitestone and torched it after driving a
short distance away.
According to police, at 6:45 a.m. on
March 24, a 51-year-old man left his
white 2003 Chevrolet Suburban running
unattended outside of a home on Utopia
Parkway near 14th Avenue in the neighborhood’s
Beechhurst section. While the
car was unattended, an unknown man
entered the vehicle and drove off.
The thief then drove the car a short distance,
then stopped the SUV, exited it and set
it ablaze. The incident was later reported to
the 109th Precinct; no injuries were reported.
Police described the perpetrator as a
white man in his 20s who was last seen
wearing sunglasses, dark jacket and jeans.
Anyone with information in regards
to this incident is asked to call Crime
Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477)
or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782).
114th Precinct
Astoria & Long Island City
Suspect wanted in
deadly LIC shooting
Cops released images of a man wanted
in connection with a deadly shooting
last month at the Queensbridge Houses
in Long Island City.
Law enforcement sources said that
Sharef Graham, 25, was gunned down on
March 24 at the massive public housing
complex located on Vernon Boulevard
near 40th Avenue.
At 7:54 p.m. on March 24, officers from
the 114th Precinct and Public Service Area 9
responded to a 911 call regarding an assault
at the location found Graham unconscious
and unresponsive on a walkway. He had
gunshot wounds to his chest and thigh.
Paramedics rushed Graham, who resided
at another building within the complex,
to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he
was later pronounced dead. At this time,
police do not have information about a
possible motive for the homicide.
On April 2, police released video footage
of the person of interest inside of a nearby
store. He’s described as a black man
between 20 and 25 years of age, weighing
between 200 and 220 pounds, with short,
braided hair. He was last seen wearing a
black hooded jacket and a red shirt.
Call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
with any information regarding the case.
Identity thieves rob Queens
victim’s bank account
Police are looking for two crooks
who stole a man’s identity and withdrew
money from his account at banks
around Queens.
According to police, at 10 a.m. on
Dec. 11, 2017, a 22-year-old man found
that he had unauthorized withdrawals
from his bank account. An investigation
found that an unknown woman,
described as a black woman aged 50 to
60 years old and wearing a fur cap and
black jacket, withdrew approximately
$1,300 from the victim’s bank account
using counterfeit checks that were
deposited at various Chase banks and
the cash was immediately withdrawn.
Two days later, at 9:48 a.m. on Dec.
13, 2017, an unknown man entered a
Chase Bank located at 118-30 Queens
Blvd. in Forest Hills, posed as the victim
and withdrew $180 from the account.
Later that day at 3:02 p.m., the suspect
entered a different Chase Bank, located
at 37-67 75th St. in Jackson Heights, and
withdrew $80 from the victim’s account.
Police described the suspect behind
the Dec. 13 withdrawals as an Asian
man that was last seen wearing a gray
baseball cap, a gray hooded sweater and
a dark colored jacket.
Call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
with any information regarding the case.