By The TimesLedger
FRESH MEADOWS – A late-night bus ride turned into a trip of terror as two men boarded a Q-30 on Utopia Parkway shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, threatened the driver with a gun and robbed four women of their jewelry, police said.
The men, both in their 20s, got on the southbound bus on Utopia Parkway at Grand Central Parkway near St. John’s University. One assailant pointed a black gun at the driver and ordered him to stop, said Detective Theresa Farello, a police spokeswoman. The gunman told the driver, “Don’t do anything stupid,” police said.
Meanwhile, the other man approached the women, grabbed them and ripped off their jewelry, police said.
One victim, a 16-year-old, describing the attack to the Daily News, said, “He grabbed me. He wanted my chain and, when I started screaming, he said ‘Shut up or we’ll blow your brains out.’”
The teen told Newsday that the assailant then punched another victim, in her 30s, when she offered her pocketbook. “He wanted her jewelry,” the teen said.
The robbers did not accost the few other passengers on the bus, police said.
Police described the gunman as Hispanic, about 25 years old, 5 feet, 8 inches tall and wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers.
The accomplice also was described as Hispanic, about 25, 5 feet, 6 inches tall and wearing a black coat, black cap and blue jeans.
Robbers steal $750K in jewels from man in Kew Gds. Hills
KEW GARDENS HILLS — A 50-year-old man carrying $750,000 worth of jewelry was approached and assaulted by three masked robbers at 7 p.m. Tuesday in front of 137-40 76th Ave., police said.
The man, whose name was not released, was leaving his car when he was approached by three men wearing ski masks, said Cadet John Buthorn, a police spokesman.
One of the men wielded a gun and used it to strike the 50-year-old on the head, cutting him, said Buthorn.
The suspects fled with the jewelry, police said. No arrests had been made as of presstime. The man was treated for minor injuries and released from a local hospital.
41-year-old man stabbed in Flushing
FLUSHING — A 41-year old man was stabbed in the upper chest while walking near the Queens Botanical Garden Friday night, police said.
The victim was walking with a 39-year-old female companion at the corner of College Point Boulevard and Blossom Avenue at about 11:20 p.m. when two men in their 20s approached and demanded money, said Officer Gary Cillo, a police spokesman.
One of the perpetrators stabbed the man, and then both attackers fled, police said. The victim was taken to New York Hospital in serious condition.
Police were investigating.
Man pleads guilty to killing wife in Jamaica motel room
KEW GARDENS — A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering his wife in front of his child in a motel room in Jamaica, striking the woman over the head with a bottle and then slicing her throat with its serrated edge, the Queens district attorney said.
In Kew Gardens, State Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy said he would sentence him to a term of 16 years to life in prison on July 9.
On Jan. 3 Miguel Vendrell, who was 44 at the time, his wife, Maureen Diaz, 34, and their 1-year-old son went to the Jets Motor Inn on Queens Boulevard near 139th Street in Jamaica, District Attorney Richard Brown said. After an argument, Vendrell struck his wife with a 40-ounce malt liquor bottle and then slit her throat with it, Brown said.
He ran out of the motel and told the clerk that he had killed his wife, the district attorney said.
Two women mugged at gunpoint in Bayside
BAYSIDE — Two gunmen approached two women walking near 43-12 223rd St. and demanded their money at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, police said.
One of the women handed over her handbag, which contained cash and credit cards. The second woman was able to get away with her bag, said Detective Edward Reuss, a police spokesman.
Police said the two muggers fled.
Police were investigating.
Man, 54, stabbed, robbed on Northern Boulevard
FLUSHING — A 54-year-old man was walking near the corner of Northern Boulevard and Parsons Boulevard about 5 a.m. Tuesday when he was approached by a man who displayed a knife and demanded cash, police said.
The two men struggled and the assailant stabbed his victim once in the side, said Detective Robert Samuel, a police spokesman.
The attacker fled with $1,000 in cash, Samuel said. The victim was taken to Flushing Hospital in stable condition.
Police were investigating.
Teen charged with defacing wall of Tudor Road building
JAMAICA ESTATES — A 16-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly writing graffiti on the back wall of a building at 179-06 Tudor Rd., which runs along the Grand Central Parkway, on Monday, June 11. Police would not identify him because of his age, but said he is a neighborhood resident and has two prior graffiti arrests.
The youth, whose graffiti sign is TACE, was matched to the tag name by the Transit Bureau Vandal Squad, said Officer Arnie Aprea of the 107th Precinct. The teen was charged with criminal mischief in the third degree and graffiti writing, a misdemeanor, as well as possession of graffiti instruments.
NJ man dies from overdose after taken from Springfield Blvd.
LAURELTON — a New Jersey man died June 13, after he overdosed on cocaine and got into a car accident on Springfield Boulevard in an apparent suicide, police said.
William Janderew, 31, of Redbank, N.J., was involved in a minor accident at 143rd Avenue and Springfield Boulevard in Laurelton at about 9 p.m. last Wednesday, said Carmen Melendez, a police spokeswoman. No one was injured in the car accident.
Janderew, who was sweating profusely at the scene of the accident, told police he had just taken a large quantity of cocaine, Melendez said.
He was transported to Franklin General Hospital, treated and then transferred to North Shore University Hospital, where he died, Melendez said.
Melendez said the death appeared to have been a suicide.
Hillcrest HS teacher’s aide charged with having heroin
MANHATTAN — A Hillcrest High School teacher’s aide was arrested and charged with heroin possession in Harlem Friday night.
The aide, identified by police as Lorna Pegues, 46, of 116-45 130 St. in Jamaica, was arrested for allegedly possessing four glassine envelopes of heroin in front of 520 West 125 St. at about 8 p.m.
She was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Ozone Park man shoots self in mouth: Police
OZONE PARK — A 30-year-old man living on Cross Bay Boulevard died about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, apparently after shooting himself in the mouth, said Sgt. James Foley, a police spokesman.
No further details were immediately available.
18-year-old man stabbed in chest on 137th Avenue
LAURELTON — An 18-year-old man was stabbed in the chest last Wednesday by an unidentified attacker, police said.
The victim was walking on 137th Avenue at 244th Street in Laurelton at about 6 p.m. when he was approached by the perpetrator and stabbed, said Carmen Melendez, a police spokeswoman.
The victim was taken to North Shore University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, Melendez said.
Police did not have any reports on the motive for the attack.
72-year-old man robbed of $60,000 in Sunnyside
SUNNYSIDE — An elderly man was approached in the parking lot of the Havoack Bank at 43-22 50th St. at about 9:45 a.m. Monday and was robbed of more than $60,000 in checks and cash, police said.
Two men in their 30s approached the 72-year-old and took $43,917 in cash and $19,000 in checks, said Detective Theresa Farello, a police spokeswoman. The victim, whose name was not released, sustained minor injuries, Farello said.
Police were investigating.
