FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 7, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
Former St. John’s University student responsible
for four murders that perplexed Florida for months
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
A 24-year-old man who graduated
from St. John’s University in Queens earlier
Video helps cops catch suspect in fatal LIC shooting
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Security camera footage helped detectives
track down a teenager who allegedly
shot a 20-year-old man to death on a
Long Island City street on Saturday aft ernoon,
police announced.
Javyn McNish, 19, of 21st Street in Long
Island City was charged on Dec. 4 with
second-degree murder and two counts of
criminal possession of a weapon in connection
with the Dec. 2 shooting.
At 4:04 p.m. that aft ernoon, offi cers
from the 114th Precinct responded to a
911 call about the gunfi re at the corner
of 36th Avenue and 14th Street, near the
Ravenswood Houses.
Law enforcement sources said the
responding offi cers found Jerrel Lewis of
12th Street in Long Island City unconscious
and unresponsive with multiple
gunshot wounds to his torso.
Paramedics rushed Lewis to Mount
Sinai Queens Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead.
During their investigation, police
noted, detectives recovered video footage
connecting McNish to the crime. He was
subsequently identifi ed through eyewitness
accounts.
Th e motive for the crime is unknown
and under investigation, law enforcement
sources said.
Queens District Attorney Richard A.
Brown said that McNish was ordered
held without bail and to return to court
on Dec. 18. He faces up to 25 years to life
in prison if convicted.
“Th e senseless killing of this young
man is another example of why my offi ce
remains vigilant in the fi ght to rid the
streets of Queens County of illegal fi rearms,”
Brown said in a statement. “Th e
defendant showed no respect for human
life when he viciously shot a 20-year-old
man who had a long life ahead of him. He
will be vigorously prosecuted.”
this year was arrested on Tuesday and
charged with the murder of four people in
Seminole Heights, FL.
Howell “Trai” Donaldson III, who
attended the Fresh Meadows university
from 2011 through 2017, is responsible
for fatally shooting four people
whose ages ranged from 20 through 60,
according to Tampa Bay Police. Seminole
Heights residents had been on edge for
more than a month aft er Donaldson’s fi rst
crime, and cops warned residents not to
walk outside alone at night.
Donaldson majored in sports management
and was a walk-on on the men’s
basketball team in 2011, according to the
Daily News.
He moved back to Florida aft er graduation
and was working at a McDonald’s in
the area, according to Tampa Bay Police.
Th e murders were committed between
Oct. 9 and Nov. 14, and Donaldson used
a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson in each
murder. According to Police Chief Brian
Dugan, the department received more
than 5,000 tips in this case.
On Nov. 28 at about 2:40 p.m.,
Donaldson walked into a McDonald’s
and handed his co-worker, Delonda
Walker, a paper bag and told her not to
look into it, according to the Tampa Bay
Times. When Donaldson walked out of
the store, Walker looked into the bag and
saw a gun.
She spotted a police offi cer in the fastfood
restaurant and handed the bag over
to her. Th e offi cer than called for backup
and police brought Donaldson in for
questioning. Police charged Donaldson
with four counts of premeditated murder.
Donaldson was charged for the murder
of Benjamin Mitchell, 22, who was killed
on Oct. 9 at about 9 p.m. On Oct. 11, he
shot Monica Hoff a, 32, and her body was
found on Oct. 13. Anthony Naiboa, 20,
was killed on Oct. 19 at approximately 8
p.m. His last victim, 60-year-old Ronald
Felton, was killed on Nov. 14 at 4:51 a.m.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan
District Attorney’s offi ce said Donaldson
has one sealed arrest from 2014. He
would not comment on whether the
District Attorney’s offi ce had opened an
investigation into other possible murders
Donaldson may have committed in
New York.
Friends of Donaldson told the Tampa
Bay Times they were shocked when
they heard the news. Th e Tampa native
returned home once he graduated in
January and worked as a customer support
representative at Ultimate Medical
Academy before he was fi red for not
showing up regularly.
Tyler Gimbert, his childhood friend,
said the murders “just didn’t make sense.”
“My mom always commended him for
his manners and likability, and she still
says he was the most likable kid that you
could possibly ask for,” Gimbert told the
Tampa Bay Times. “She started to tear
up on the phone when I told her. My
dad too.”
Donaldson is being held without bond
and his next court hearing was scheduled
for Dec. 5.
Photos via Twitter/@NYPD108Pct
Detectives escort Miguel Valencia (inset) into
a police car on Nov. 28.
Manhattan man
cuff ed for Woodside
murder 18 months ago
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
More than 18 months aft er a
Woodside man was gunned down on
a neighborhood street, police have
locked up his alleged murderer.
Police said that Miguel Valencia, 25,
of Manhattan was picked up on Nov.
28 by the 108th Precinct Detective
Squad for the murder of Miguel Angel
Ramirez Tercaro, 31, on April 9, 2016.
At 3:07 a.m. that morning, law
enforcement sources said, Tercaro
was shot multiple times in the head
and torso in front of a home on 47th
Avenue between 67th and 69th streets.
Offi cers from the 108th Precinct
responded to a 911 call about the
shooting and found Tercaro lying
unconscious in the middle of the street.
Paramedics rushed him to Elmhurst
Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead.
When contacted by QNS, police
sources did not provide information
about the circumstances surrounding
the shooting, or how detectives were
able to connect Valencia to the incident.
A criminal complaint provided by
the Queens District Attorney’s offi ce
revealed that Valencia was linked to
the crime through several witnesses’
testimony and video surveillance from
near the crime scene.
Following questioning on Nov. 28,
Valencia was booked on charges of
murder and criminal possession of a
weapon. He was arraigned the following
day in Queens Criminal Court and
ordered held without bail.
Captain Ralph Forgione, the 108th
Precinct’s commander, took to Twitter
to congratulate the detective squad on
making the arrest.
“Congrats to Detective Desouza,
& Castillo from the 108 Detective
Squad, & Detective Bey from @
NYPDQueensNorth. Th eir hard work
resulted in an arrest on the Homicide
that happened last year on 69 Street in
#Woodside. #NYPDprotecting #nypdneversleeps,”
Forgione tweeted.
Photo via Facebook/Inset photo via Tampa Bay Police
Former St. John’s University student Howell Donaldson (pictured in a 2010 photo) was charged with
four murders in Florida.
