12 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 9, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY JENNA BAGCAL, EMILY DAVENPORT, RYAN KELLEY AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
103rd Precinct
Jamaica
MS-13 members charged
with murder attempt
Four members of the notorious MS-13
gang have been charged with attempted
murder for their alleged role in a Jamaica
shooting in 2016 that left a 16-year-old
suspected rival gang member paralyzed.
Th e arrests and indictment fi led in
federal court on Aug. 3 accuse Melvi
Amador-Rios, Santos Amador-Rios, Yan
Carlos Ramirez and Antonio Salvador of
assault, murder conspiracy and attempted
murder in-aid-of racketeering, along with
a related fi rearms off ense. Th e indictment
is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions
by the United States Attorney’s
Offi ce for the Eastern District of New
York against members of MS-13.
“As alleged, the defendants are members
of MS-13, an international gang
known for its culture of violence and
murder,” stated United States Attorney
Richard P. Donoghue. “Th ey used their
positions to direct, instruct and assist
lower-level gang members to shoot and
kill a suspected rival on the streets of
Jamaica, Queens. We will continue to
work with our law enforcement partners
to hold accountable those who spread fear
in our communities by participating in
such acts of violence.”
According to court records, Melvi
Amador-Rios is the leader of the MS-13
branch Centrales Locos Salvatruchas
(CLS), which operates in Jamaica. On
Oct. 22, 2016, Amador-Rios directed a
low-level member of the gang known as
a “chequeo” to obtain a fi rearm from his
brother, Santos Amador-Rios, and use the
fi rearm to murder a rival gang member.
Once the “chequeo” obtained the fi rearm,
he enlisted two other CLS members to
assist in the murder, records show.
Ramirez and Salvador then allegedly
instructed the three “chequeos” on how to
use the fi rearm and carry out the murder.
During the early morning hours of Oct.
23, 2016, in Jamaica, the three “chequeos”
confronted the suspected member of the
rival 18th Street gang, beat the victim and
shot him in the head. Th e victim survived
the attack but is now paraplegic, according
to court records.
“Gang violence simply serves no purpose
other than to poison our communities
with fear and menace,” stated FBI
Assistant Director-in-Charge William F.
Sweeney, Jr. “Th ese gang rivals acted on
baseless rage, and this victim’s life is now
changed forever.”
Since 2010, the Eastern District of New
York has charged members of MS-13
with carrying out more than 45 murders
and has convicted dozens of MS-13
leaders and members in connection with
those murders.
111th Precinct
Bayside
Fake mechanic dupes
victim in repair scam
Police are looking for a phony mechanic
who swindled a man out of over $1,000 in
the Oakland Gardens section of Bayside
last month.
According to authorities, at 5:30 p.m.
on July 19, a 27-year-old man was behind
a CVS Pharmacy, located at 215-08 73rd
Ave., when he was approached by an
unknown man who identifi ed himself
as a mechanic. Th e man told the victim
that the rear tire on his car was in need
of immediate repair, otherwise it would
fall off .
Law enforcement sources said the victim
agreed to let the suspect fi x his tire
and paid him $1,700 for his service.
Th e suspect then fl ed the scene southbound
on Bell Boulevard in a white
Chevrolet Suburban SUV. It was later
determined that the victim’s vehicle did
not need to be repaired.
Cops described the fake fi xer as a
Hispanic man in his 30s standing 5 feet,
8 inches tall. He was last seen sporting
a ponytail and wearing a light-colored,
long-sleeved shirt.
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 are strictly
confi dential.
114th Precinct
Long Island City
Punch victim in LIC dies
days after assault
Police confirmed that the victim of an
assault in Long Island City this weekend
has died.
On Sunday, Aug. 5, at approximately
1:15 a.m, it was reported to police
that a witness standing on the sidewalk
on 29th Street saw an intoxicated man
banging on random cars.
One of the cars that the 35-yearold
victim banged on belonged to the
unidentified male suspect, authorities
said, who allegedly got out of his car
and punched the man in the face on the
corner of 29th Street and 41st Avenue.
The victim fell back and lost consciousness
when his head hit the pavement,
police said.
Officers from the 114th Precinct
responded to the scene. Paramedics
brought the victim to a nearby hospital
where he succumbed to his injuries on
Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 2:25 p.m. His identity
was not disclosed by police.
No arrests have been made and the
investigation is ongoing.
Video and photo evidence show
the suspect fleeing the scene inside a
white SUV, headed northbound on
29th Street. Police sources described
the individual as a bald, dark-skinned
male, who was last seen wearing a
light-colored, long-sleeved shirt and
jeans.
Call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
with any information about the case.
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Three indicted for deadly
drug overdoses in F.H.
Th ree Queens residents distributed
fentanyl-laced heroin across the borough
that resulted in two fatal overdoses
in Forest Hills, prosecutors announced
on Tuesday, Aug. 7.
David Wickham, 35, Katelyn
Trampler, 27, and Crystal Roberts, 28,
faced a federal judge on Aug. 7 for
arraignment on a 10-count indictment
charging them variously with narcotics
distribution, money laundering and
weapons possession.
According to U.S. Attorney Richard
Donoghue, the three suspects allegedly
peddled heroin and fentanyl out of
a home on Tioga Drive in St. Albans
where they resided between January
2017 and February of this year. Th ey
allegedly wired money to associates in
Panama to expand the drug ring while
also laundering the proceeds from their
illegal drug sales.
Law enforcement sources familiar
with the investigation said that
Wickham allegedly sold fentanyl on or
about July 30, 2017, which was later
used by a man and woman in Forest
Hills, both of whom wound up dying
of overdoses. Later in the year, on Dec.
13, additional heroin and fentanyl that
Wickham allegedly distributed nearly
killed another user, who had to be
revived with Narcan (naloxoxe).
“As alleged, Wickham’s distribution
of dangerous opioids resulted in the
deaths of a man and a woman, and the
near-death of a second man,” Donoghue
said. “Th e defendants sought to profi t
from other people’s addictions and put
their own greed ahead of the public’s
health and safety.”
Federal agents and the NYPD were
able to bust the narcotics ring in
February 2018 as a result of a lengthy
investigation. Authorities recovered the
defendants’ cellphones and found, on
Roberts’ phone, videos which allegedly
confi rmed her participation in the ring.
Th e use of fentanyl-laced heroin has
contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis
in the United States. Fentanyl, a synthetic
painkiller, is known to be 50 times
more potent than heroin; when combined
with heroin, fentanyl makes the
substance far more powerful — and
deadly.
Fentanyl overdose deaths rose 135
percent, and heroin overdose deaths
jumped by 28 percent between 2014 and
2015, according to federal prosecutors.
Wickham and Trampler were arrested
by federal agents on Feb. 27 and March
1, respectively; during Wickham’s
arrest, police recovered from him a
Cobra Enterprises FS380 semi-automatic
pistol. Both suspects have been held in
federal custody since their arrest.
If convicted, Wickham could spend
between 20 years to life in federal prison,
while Roberts faces up to 20 years
behind bars and Trampler could serve
up to 40 years’ imprisonment.