4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 25, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Burglar takes
a crowbar to
Queens cop
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
A Howard Beach man was
arrested aft er he assaulted a police
offi cer as he tried to fl ee from a
burglary attempt in Kew Gardens
Hills.
Andres Tabares, 37, was charged
with fi rst- and second-degree
assault, aggravated assault upon
a police offi cer or peace offi cer,
assault on a police offi cer, fi reman
or emergency medical services
professional, second-degree
attempted burglary, possession
of burglar’s tools and resisting
arrest. If convicted, Tabares faces
up to 25 years in prison.
Marlon Morales Moreira, 28
of Elmhurst, was also taken into
custody in connection to the
incident. He was charged with
fi rst-degree assault, second-degree
attempted burglary and second
degree obstructing governmental
administration and faces
25 years in prison if convicted.
“This incident illustrates
the dangers police offi cers face
every day on the job. Th e offi cer
responded to a call from a homeowner
that two individuals were
breaking into his home,” said
Chief Assistant District Attorney
John M. Ryan. “One of the defendants,
on the verge of being
arrested, responded by allegedly
hitting the police offi cer in the
eye with a crowbar. Th is heroic
public servant has temporarily
lost sight in his eye. Th e defendant
now faces a lengthy term of
incarceration.”
According to the charges, at
9:40 p.m. on April 16, a man
called 911 saying that he saw
two people trying to get into the
backdoor of his 59th Avenue
home. Upon their arrival, offi -
cers allegedly saw Tabares and
Morales Moreira, who then took
off in diff erent directions. Police
gave chase, with Offi cer Anthony
Spinella pursuing Tabares on foot.
Offi cer Spinella caught up with
Tabares and grabbed his shirt,
and that’s when Tabares allegedly
swung his arm around and hit the
police offi cer in the face with the
crowbar he was holding.
Charges say that Officer
Spinella sustained an abrasion
to his eye with bleeding behind
his eye, swelling and temporary
blindness. Aft er being arrested,
Tabares allegedly stated in sum
and substance that “it was a mistake”
and that he was just “trying
to get away.”
Morales Moreira was apprehended
without incident.
Surveillance images courtesy of the 111th Precinct
Security camera photos of the suspect connected to a series of package thefts in Bayside, Douglaston, Hollis Hills and Little Neck.
Cops catch busy package thieves in northeast Qns.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Th e 111th Precinct announced the arrests
of two Queens residents linked to a series
of grand larcenies around the borough.
On April 17, the 111th Precinct Field
Intelligence Team and detectives from
Queens North Grand Larceny Unit arrested
24-year-old Ronald Chan of Bellerose
and 21-year-old Roland Ko of Elmhurst.
Th e two individuals were wanted for
multiple package theft s in March and April
2019. Police reportedly arrested Chan and
Ko in the vicinity of 85th Road and 253rd
Street in Bellerose at around 5 p.m. on
April 17.
“Last night we arrested two people who
have committed several package theft s in
our precinct. Great work by our intell team
and Grand Larceny Division detectives!”
the precinct tweeted on April 18.
According to a post on the precinct’s
Facebook page, the NYPD launched an
investigation aft er several reported theft s
matched with video evidence. Th e joint
investigation led to the identifi cation of
potential suspects in the theft s.
Th e Field Intelligence Team and the
department’s Grand Larceny Division
observed Chan and Ko switching license
plates on their car before committing two
separate theft s in the precinct.
Police arrested the two for the following
incidents:
March 1 – Larceny of a package from
the vicinity of Richland Avenue and 211th
Street in Oakland Gardens.
April 9 – Larceny of a package from the
vicinity of Th ornhill Avenue and 244th
Street in Little Neck.
April 9 – Larceny of a package from the
vicinity of 41st Avenue and 234th Street in
Douglaston.
April 10 – Larceny of a package from the
vicinity of 38th Avenue and 223rd Street
in Bayside.
April 14 – Larceny of a package from the
vicinity of 85th Avenue and 213th Street in
Hollis Hills.
April 17 – Reckless endangerment and
package theft from the vicinity of 82nd
Avenue and 210th Street in Hollis Hills.
Poll fi nds favor among Queens residents for homeless shelters
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A tectonic shift may be underway on the
way Queens residents feel about homeless
shelters, if a new poll released Tuesday is
to be believed.
In what is touted as the fi rst-ever poll
focused exclusively on homelessness, the
poll reveals that 91 percent of borough residents
agree that more needs to be done to
combat the homelessness crisis and ninein
10 believe that shelter be provided to all
those who need it.
Th e new poll from Win, formerly known
as Women in Need, and HarrisX shows that
more Queens residents said they would support
a homeless shelter opening in their own
neighborhood than those who said they
would not support it (46 percent to 40).
Win, New York’s largest provider of shelter
and services to homeless women and
their families, commissioned the March
poll. HarrisX surveyed 1,002 adult New
Yorkers from every borough, including
more than 100 people from Queens.
“Until now, we thought there was a huge
amount of controversy around solutions
to the homeless crisis,” Win President and
CEO Christine Quinn said. “New Yorkers
don’t agree on much, but the poll shows
that New Yorkers believe we should do
A recent protest over a proposed College Point homeless shelter
more to solve the problem of homelessness
and they are willing to do their part,
in their own neighborhoods.”
Quinn, the former speaker of the New
York City Council, added some advice for
her former colleagues in government.
“Policy makers should take note that
their constituents believe that more should
be done and support a host of solutions
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
that the homeless services community has
been advocating for.”
Th e Courier reached out to City Hall and
the Department of Homeless Services and
awaits a response.
Citywide, the poll showed a majority of
New Yorkers, 59 percent, would support
a homeless shelter opening in their own
neighborhood.
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