20 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo by Robert Stridiron
St. Albans man cuff ed for killing corrections cop
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Cops have arrested a St. Albans man who
fatally shot an off -duty corrections offi cer in the
head in Richmond Hill last week.
Giff ord Hunter, 30, an MTA employee, was
charged on Sept. 17 with second-degree murder
and two counts of second-degree criminal possession
of a weapon. He is currently being held without
bail and is due to return to court on Oct. 10.
If convicted, Hunter faces up to 25 years to
life in prison.
According to charges, at 1:36 a.m. on Sept.
14, Hunter fi red a single shot into a vehicle
driven by 27-year-old Jonathan Narain, who
was on his way to work as a corrections offi -
cer, at the intersection of 120th Street and
103rd Avenue, fatally striking Narain in the
head.
Paramedics responded to the scene and
transported Narain to Jamaica Hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
“Th e defendant is accused of fi ring a single
shot into the head of an off -duty NYC corrections
offi cer, mortally wounding him,” said
District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “Th is
was a cold-hearted and senseless act of violence
that will not be tolerated in Queens
County. My offi ce will continue to work tirelessly
to combat the proliferation of illegal
guns in our community and will vigorously
prosecute those who disobey our laws.”
Laurelton residents poll the public once again
seeking improvements to local rail station
BY EMMA MILLER
editorial@qns.com / @QNS
Th e Federated Blocks of Laurelton distributed
a survey on Wednesday morning asking
commuters if there should be an elevator or
escalator at the Laurelton LIRR station.
Ten volunteers from the Federated Blocks
handed out about 400 surveys and received
248 responses from participants.
Th is was the second time the group distributed
surveys. Back in May, they handed out
about the same number of surveys and got
320 responses.
Robert Glover, president of the Federated
Blocks of Laurelton, said that there are many
handicapped people in the neighborhood that
have to go to Rosedale or Valley Stream to get
on the train.
“Almost every station has an elevator but
this station,” he said.
Glover pointed out that there are 41 steps
at the Laurelton station, making it diffi cult for
the elderly, parents with strollers and people
with luggage to get to the platform.
Th e Federated Blocks of Laurelton plans to
pitch the idea of an elevator to state Senator
Leroy Comrie and Governor Andrew Cuomo
once the survey results are tallied, Glover said.
“We have already had two meetings with a
representative from our senator,” he said. Th is
led to the survey being linked on Comrie’s
website.
Th e Federated Blocks has also sent a letter
to the governor, Glover said.
Th e survey asks customers how oft en they
ride the LIRR and if they think an elevator
or escalator is needed. It also has a section
where they can mark if they are disabled,
elderly, carry bags or strollers, or are a daily
commuter.
Glover said that survey results should be
available by the end of September.
Th e MTA has declined to comment until
they receive survey results.
Woodhaven
mail ‘fi sher’ gets
11 months in the
slammer
BY ROBERT
POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
An admitted mailbox
fi sher who stole letters outside
the Woodhaven post
offi ce will be spending
close to a year behind bars.
Orbik Gutierrez, 21, of
the Bronx pleaded guilty
on Sept. 13 to a criminal
trespass charge for the
theft , which occurred early
on the morning of March
29, 2017, at a United States
Postal Service mailbox in
front of the post offi ce on
Forest Parkway off Jamaica
Avenue. Queens Criminal
Court Judge Michelle
Johnson ordered Gutierrez
to spend 11 months behind
bars.
Prosecutors said that
police observed Gutierrez
placing something inside
the blue mailbox before
walking away. He then
returned moments later
and was seen removing a
device from the mailbox.
Th e device, law enforcement
sources said, turned
out to be a makeshift fi shing
rod — basically, a
string attached to a bottle
with a sticky substance
on it. Footage from security
cameras outside the
post offi ce showed several
pieces of mail stuck to
the bottle.
Police moved in and
apprehended Gutierrez,
one of a number of mail
thieves busted by police
in Queens in recent years.
Th e NYPD has been battling
reported mailbox
fi shing theft s across the
borough and city.
“When residents place
their mail — envelopes
containing checks and
sometimes cash — into
mailboxes, they have an
expectation that the blue
boxes are secure. Th is
defendant, however, found
a way to swipe mail from
this box using a makeshift
‘fi shing’ rod,” Queens
District Attorney Richard
A. Brown said. “Th e defendant
was observed by law
enforcement offi cers pulling
mail out of the blue
mailbox and was arrested.
Th e defendant will be
incarcerated as a result of
his criminal acts.”
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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