12 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY JENNA BAGCAL, EMILY DAVENPORT, RYAN KELLEY AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
103rd Precinct
Jamaica
Driver charged in
deadly cab crash
A 19-year-old woman lost her life on
May 24 aft er the cab she was riding in was
struck by a fast-moving car at a Jamaica
intersection, authorities said.
Th e driver of the speeding vehicle —
Alfaheed Odesanya, 19, of 101st Avenue
in Queens Village — now faces criminal
charges, the NYPD reported.
Police said the deadly crash occurred at
11:06 p.m. on May 24 at the corner of Guy
R. Brewer Boulevard and Archer Avenue.
According to law enforcement sources,
Gabriella Nuel, 19, and a 23-year-old man
were riding in the back of a 2015 Hyundai
sedan cab operated by a 28-year-old man
traveling eastbound on Archer Avenue.
While passing through the intersection,
authorities said, a 2018 white Mercedes
Benz sedan heading north on Guy R.
Brewer Boulevard struck the Hyundai’s
passenger side. Police said that Odesanya
allegedly drove the sedan at a high rate of
speed and disobeyed a stoplight.
Offi cers from the 103rd Precinct and
EMS units rushed to the scene. Paramedics
rushed Nuel, a resident of 225th Street in
Laurelton, to Jamaica Hospital, where she
was pronounced dead. Th e cab driver and
the 28-year-old male passenger were also
taken to Jamaica Hospital and are currently
listed in stable condition.
Neither Odesanya nor a 20-year-old
man sitting in the front passenger seat of
the vehicle were seriously injured.
Odesanya was charged with criminally
negligent homicide and leaving the scene
of an accident. He was released on $5,000
bail on May 25 and must return to court
on June 8, records noted.
105th Precinct
Southeast Queens
Detectives make arrest in
Cambria Hts. murder
Police have arrested a suspect in a
Cambria Heights murder case more than
two months aft er the shooting took place.
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Th e ongoing investigation led police to
arrest Jamaica resident Dandre Paige, 26,
at approximately 8:43 p.m. on May 23.
Paige has been charged with murder and
robbery, authorities said.
Th e incident in question took place
on March 11 at 5:37 p.m. when offi cers
from the 105th Precinct responded to
reports of a man shot in front of a home
on 225th Street, according to law enforcement
sources.
When police arrived, they found
20-year-old Tyler Timmons lying face
down with a gunshot wound to his chest.
Timmons lived on 225th Street, just one
block north of the crime scene.
Paramedics rushed Timmons to Long
Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital,
where he was later pronounced dead.
108th Precinct
LIC, Maspeth, Sunnyside &
Woodside
Truck driver charged after
bicyclist struck & killed
A bike rider died on the aft ernoon of
Tuesday, May 29, in Long Island City
aft er being hit by a truck allegedly operated
by an unlicensed driver, police reported.
Offi cers from the 108th Precinct
responded to a 911 call about a vehicle
collision at the corner of 21st Street
and 46th Avenue just before 3 p.m. on
May 29.
When they arrived at the scene, they
found a 45-year-old man who suff ered
severe trauma to his head and body.
Police said the victim was riding northbound
on 21st Street when a driver in
a parked car opened their door into
oncoming traffi c, causing the cyclist to
abruptly crash into it.
Upon impact, authorities said, the man
fell off his bicycle into the street, and was
then struck by a white box truck. Both
the truck driver and the operator of the
parked vehicle remained at the scene.
Paramedics rushed the victim to
NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens hospital
in Flushing, where he was pronounced
dead. Police withheld his identity, pending
family notifi cation.
Th e box truck driver was taken into
police custody for not having a valid driver’s
license at the time of the crash. Police
identifi ed him as 32-year-old Agustin
Osorio of Greene Avenue in Brooklyn.
Osorio was charged as an aggravated
unlicensed operator.
Th e NYPD’s Collision Investigation
Squad is continuing to look into the case.
109th Precinct
College Point, Flushing,
Whitestone
Trio assaults
Flushing bar
worker over tab
Cops are looking for a
trio who refused to pay
their bill at a Flushing
nightclub and attacked
an employee.
According to police, at
5:30 a.m. on May 24, three unknown
men were inside IG Night Club, located
at 131-35 Fowler Ave., when a 41-yearold
male employee asked them to pay
their $120 bill.
Th e suspects began to punch and kick
the employee, and to hit him in the
head with a bottle.
EMS responded to the scene and
transported the victim to New York
Presbyterian/Queens, where he was
treated for a fractured left middle fi nger
and a severe contusion to his left
eye. He received 14 staples in his head.
Police described the suspects as Asian
men between the ages of 45 and 50
years old.
Anyone with information in regards
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, nypdcrimestoppers.
com, or by texting their
tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter
TIP577. All calls and messages are kept
confi dential.
L.I. man charged for hatefi
lled LIRR tirade in Queens
A Long Island man who allegedly
spewed racial epithets at a fellow commuter
on board a Long Island Rail Road
train in Queens last month now faces
hate crime charges.
Edward Ruggiero, 58, of Long
Beach appeared in a Queens Criminal
Courtroom on Wednesday, May 23, for
arraignment on charges of menacing as
a hate crime and second-degree aggravated
harassment.
According to Queens District Attorney
Richard A. Brown, Ruggiero lashed out
at a 25-year-old woman on board an
eastbound train between the Forest Hills
and Jamaica stations on the night of
April 19. A fellow train rider fi lmed the
profanity-fi lled, racially tinged tirade,
and it quickly became a viral video, as
shown on YouTube.
“Th e bigotry and hatred that the
defendant is accused of manifesting and
acting upon have no place in a civilized
society — especially in Queens County,
the most culturally diverse county in
the nation,” Brown said in a statement.
“Crimes of hate will never be tolerated
here, and when they do regrettably
occur, those responsible will be brought
to justice.”
Between 9:53 and 10:25 p.m. on
April 19, prosecutors said, Ruggerio
approached a 25-year-old woman
from Lynbrook seated nearby, whom
he apparently believed was playing her
radio too loudly.
Ruggerio allegedly raised his hand
toward her and said, “I’ll smack the
expletive out of you, you loud mouth
monkey expletive.” Law enforcement
sources aid he allegedly continued
screaming for several minutes, calling
her a “black monkey” in the process.
At one point, according to the criminal
complaint, he allegedly yelled at
the woman, “Get off at Jamaica. Get off
in the ghetto,” then imitated monkey
sounds at her.
Ruggerio was arrested on May 23 following
an investigation that the MTA
Police Department conducted. At his
arraignment, Ruggerio was released
without bail but ordered to return to
court on July 12. He faces up to a year in
prison and/or a $1,000 fi ne if convicted.