16 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 28, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
year in review
FEBRUARY
PROLIFIC FLUSHING BURGLAR CUFFED
Kenneth Connolly, 50, was arrested
on Feb. 1 and charged with multiple
counts of burglary and grand larceny.
Connolly was suspected to have broken
into 12 diff erent commercial establishments
that were just blocks away from
each other in the Auburndale section
of the neighborhood, within the confi
nes of the 109th and 111th Precincts,
and taking an undetermined amount of
cash from each building over the course
of 10 days.
KARINA VETRANO’S
ALLEGED KILLER CAUGHT
Chanel Lewis, the
20-year-old East
Brooklyn resident
accused of brutally
raping and murdering
BODY FOUND IN FLUSHING PARK
Badly decomposed remains were discovered
by a passerby in a heavily wooded
area of Flushing‘s Kissena Park on Feb.
8. Th e remains were later determined
to be those of a man who took his own
life, according to authorities at the 109th
Precinct. Th e 109th Precinct Detective
Squad worked closely with the Medical
Examiner’s offi ce and a forensic anthropologist
to help close the case.
Howard Beach’s
Karina Vetrano in
August 2016, was
arrested on Feb. 4.
Detectives were able
to identify the suspect
aft er a six-month
investigation employing
over 250 leads
from the public, 1,700
investigative reports and DNA testing. He was arraigned on a 13-count indictment
in April. Lewis’ trial is ongoing.
EXPANSION ANNOUNCED FOR
OVERCROWDED SCHOOL
Announced on Feb. 21, the city’s most overcrowded high school, Francis Lewis
High School in Fresh Meadows, will fi nally see a major upgrade. Th e school is slated
to get 500 new seats and a number of state-of-the-art amenities, the city’s School
Construction Authority said. Th e new fully accessible and air-conditioned building,
which has yet to be designed, will create 500 more seats and include at least 18
new instructional spaces. Th e state-of-the-art annex will also include new amenities,
including a culinary arts room, a science lab, a greenhouse, locker rooms and a
multi-purpose room.