Crime plagues borough in 2018
High school slashing, day care stabbing, animal hoarding among top capers in Queens
Police officers walk outside Cardozo High School following a slashing incident in December. Photo by Mark Hallum
A Jackson Heights woman faces two years in jail after she was
convicted of animal cruelty for failing to provide adequate care
for 67 animals, like this one. Photo by Ellis Kaplan
BY BILL PARRY
The borough was shocked
by three separate crimes in
2018 — among others — one
of which happened earlier
this month.
A 15-year-old boy was
in custody on assault and
weapons possession charges
for slashing a fellow student
at Benjamin Cardozo High
School in Bayside Dec. 11,
causing a 2 1/2 hour lockdown
of the campus that
alarmed students, parents
and staff alike.
Law enforcement sources
said that the attack occurred
at about 8:48 a.m., when the
15-year-old suspect confronted
the 14-year-old male victim
inside of the high school
at 57-00 223rd St. The perpetrator
engaged in a verbal
dispute with the victim, authorities
said, before slashing
him in the head with an
“unknown sharp weapon.”
The student was taken to a
nearby hospital to be treated
for non-life-threatening injuries.
The school promptly
went on lockdown as police
investigated the assault.
A Flushing woman was
indicted following an unprovoked
knife attack of three
newborns and two adults at
a Flushing daycare center
in the early morning hours
Sept. 21.
The defendant, Yufen
Wang, 52, of Cherry Avenue
in Flushing, was indicted
Nov. 2 with four counts of
second-degree attempted
murder, four counts of firstdegree
assault, one count of
second-degree assault, and
one count of fourth-degree
criminal possession of a
weapon.
Wang, who worked as a
caregiver, allegedly stabbed
a fellow caregiver seven
times in the leg, face, and
chest as she was feeding an
infant at around 3 a.m. in
the kitchen of a three-story
residence located at 43-67
161st St.
Wang also stabbed the
infant who the 63-year-old
woman was feeding at the
time, before proceeding to
harm others in the house,
according to Brown.
Meng Xu, 31, a father
to one of the children in
the center, woke up to the
sounds of Wang slashing
and stabbing two baby girls.
In his efforts to try and stop
the knife-wielding woman,
Xu was stabbed in the leg
and bitten on the wrist, according
to Queens District
Attorney Richard Brown.
A 22-day-old girl injured
during the melee suffered
lacerations to her face, chest
and ear. A 33-day-old infant
girl sustained injuries to
her abdomen and back. The
youngest of the victims, just
13 days old, suffered knife
wounds to her abdomen,
face and chest, Brown said.
If convicted, Wang faces
between five and 25 years in
prison.
Previously convicted of
animal cruelty and hoarding,
a Jackson Heights woman
found herself in jail once
again, this time for assaulting
a probation officer visiting
her home — and again
keeping numerous pets in
squalor.
Elizabeth Grant, 50, was
convicted in March of this
year on 108 counts of animal
cruelty and ordered to
serve three years’ probation;
she was also prohibited
from owning any pets for
10 years. Law enforcement
officials had found dozens
of neglected cats and dogs in
her 82nd Street home back
in 2016.
The probation officer
wound up seeking treatment
at a local hospital for
substantial pain.
Grant was arraigned on
charges including attempted
assault of a peace or police
officer; attempted assault
as a hate crime; assault; attempted
assault; 16 counts of
failure to provide proper food
and drink to an impounded
animal; 16 counts of criminal
contempt; and 16 counts
of overdriving, torturing and
injuring animals.
If convicted of all charges,
she faces up to seven
years behind bars.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
TIMESLEDGER,14 DEC. 28-JAN. 3, 2019 TIMESLEDGER.COM
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