By The TimesLedger
FLUSHING — Burglars stole 600 cartons of cigarettes, phone cards, metro cards, and an undetermined amount of cash from a grocery store Saturday morning, police said.
Perpetrators forced their way into a gate in the basement of the Parsons Mini Mart at 144-03 Northern Blvd. at about 7 a.m., stole the items and fled, police said.
Police reported no arrests.
Anti-semitic graffiti found in Flushing
POMONOK—Police found anti-semitic drawings inside the elevator of a Jewel Avenue building and on a car outside the building Monday morning, police said.
The drawings were found in the elevator at 161-55 Jewel Ave. and on a man’s car parked outside the building at 6:30 a.m., police said.
No arrests were made and police were investigating the incident as a possible bias crime.
Borough South officer suspended after arrest
FRESH MEADOWS — A police officer assigned to Patrol Borough Queens South’s auto larceny unit was suspended Monday after he was arrested, police said.
Police Officer Robert Rizzotto was arrested on charges of assault and robbery in the third degree, police said.
Police did not release the details of Rizzotto’s arrest.
Officer hospitalized after dog bite in Cunningham
CUNNINGHAM PARK — One police officer was injured trying to subdue two wild dogs at 6:30 a.m. Monday, police said.
One of the two dogs bit the officer, police said. An emergency services unit got the dogs under control, police said.
The officer was removed to St. John’s Hospital, treated and released.
Dead body found on corner in Queensboro Hill
QUEENSBORO HILL— Police found the body of an unidentified 40-year-old man Friday evening off the corner of 153rd Street and Booth Memorial Avenue in Kissena Park, police said.
The death was not considered to be suspicious and the medical examiner was to determine the cause of death, police said.
Mets pitcher had seizure outside Corona hotel
CORONA—New York Mets pitcher Mark Corey suffered a seizure June 26 in the parking lot of his hotel, police said.
The incident occurred on the corner of 114th Street and 37th Avenue shortly before midnight June 26, police said.
Published reports said the pitcher had smoked marijuana with teammate Tony Tarasco before the incident, but it was unclear what, if any, effect that action had on the seizure.
Corey was taken to New York Hospital Queens Medical Center in stable condition and was later released.
Garbageman arrested in Willets Point
WILLETS POINT — A city sanitation employee was arrested following a traffic stop at Northern Boulevard and 126th Street Tuesday, police said.
Anatoly Zaborsky, 56, was arrested at 9:47 a.m. on charges of disorderly conduct, police said.
Auburndale man found shot in his basement
AUBURNDALE – An Auburndale man was found dead in his basement utility room from an apparent gunshot wound Saturday, police said.
The 44-year-old man was discovered by his wife at about 6:20 p.m. and pronounced deal on arrival when emergency medical services responded a few minutes later, police said.
The medical examiner was to determine the cause of death, police said.
New trial ordered in Jamaica shooting
BROOKLYN – The conviction of a man found guilty of shooting a Laurelton man in 1997 was overturned in an appeals court last month.
James Lauderdale, 38, of Brooklyn, was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of John Herriott, 25, after a February 2000 trial. The Appellate Division panel in Brooklyn overturned the verdict last month, saying that Lauderdale’s lawyer should have objected when the prosecutor used his nickname, “Homicide,” more than 30 times during the trial.
The panel also said that Justice Robert Hanophy, who heard the case, gave the jury improper instructions, and it sent the case back to State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens.
The shooting of which Lauderdale was convicted took place Feb. 23, 1997, when Herriott, a Columbia University student from 146-27 227th St. in Laurelton, went to a now-closed Jamaica strip club with friends. As Herriott was leaving the club, a fight broke out and Lauderdale fired one shot, striking Herriott.
The district attorney’s office is considering whether to present the case to a new grand jury, a spokesman for the DA said.
Richmond Hill cop carjacked at home
RICHMOND HILL—A 102nd Precinct auxiliary police officer was carjacked early Monday morning in the driveway of his home, police said.
The officer was parking his black Nissan Altima in his driveway at 84-24 86th Ave. shortly before 1:30 a.m. when he was approached by two men in their 20s who produced a gun and entered the car, police said.
The men fled with the vehicle, NY registration AEU-8419, and the officer’s shield and identification card, police said.
The officer escaped unharmed, police said. Police were continuing with an investigation.
South Jamaica man dies in stolen car accident
SOUTH JAMAICA – A stolen car plowed into a house at 105-68 Van Wyck Expy. in South Jamaica early Friday morning, killing the driver, 21, police said.
Ramel Coleman, of 153-15 109th Ave. in South Jamaica, was pronounced dead on arrival.
The passenger in the car, Jason Lucas, 19, of 84-15 Daniels St. in Briarwood, was uninjured and charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, police said.
The investigation was continuing, police said.
Man found hanging in his Hollis home
HOLLIS— A 38-year-old man was found early in the morning June 26 hanging from a pipe, police said.
The man was discovered by family members at 108-60 159th St. at 3:30 a.m., police said.
The medical examiner was to determine the cause of death.
Driving school operator charged with forging documents
RICHMOND HILL—The operator of a Richmond Hill driving school was charged with forging vehicle insurance cards and New York State Department of Motor Vehicles’ registration certificates, District Attorney Richard Brown said Monday.
Billy Fulmore, 56, of 105-66 130th St. was charged with forgery, criminal possession of a forged instrument and scheme to defraud and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, the District Attorney said.
According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 29, 2001, Fulmore fraudulently created on the driving school’s computer system three documents for a 1993 Ford Explorer: two insurance cards and a temporary certificate of registration. The vehicle was not insured, the complaint said.
On two occasions in 2002, the defendant also allegedly created insurance cards for vehicles that did not have insurance coverage, it said.
A team of NYPD detectives and state DMV investigators executed a search warrant at the school and seized various property, including computers, insurance cards and forged W-2 forms, the DA said.
Fulmore was arrested last Thursday at the A to Z Driving School on Liberty Avenue following a 10-month investigation conducted by officials from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and detectives from the NYPD’s Auto Crime Division.
He was arraigned in Queens County Criminal Court in front of Judge Steven Paynter, who set bail at $25,000 and a return date for July 11.
Averne man shot as he was walking
AVERNE — A 22-year-old man was shot in the waist as he walked past 106 Bay 59th St., at 9:30 p.m. Monday, police said.
The man was taken to Peninsula General Hospital in stable condition, police said.
Police were investigating.
Corona man sentenced to 18 years for Long Island City tavern murder
KEW GARDENS — A 32-year-old Corona man was sentenced to 18 years in prison last month for a 1998 Long Island City tavern murder, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Miguel Valerio, 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in March before State Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy, who imposed the 18-year sentence at a hearing June 20.
Valerio shot the victim once in the back of the head in the bathroom of Mad Ass Tavern at 43-06 43rd St. in Long Island City after the two got into an argument over Valerio’s girlfriend, Brown said. He fled to Delaware after the shooting.
“This was a vicious killing of an unsuspecting man for which the defendant will serve a lengthy prison sentence,” Brown said in a statement. “Justice has been done.”
Couple found dead in car at Elmhurst garage
ELMHURST — Two young lovers were found dead in a garage June 26, apparently poisoned by carbon monoxide, police said.
The body of a woman was found lying on the back seat of a parked car with its engine running, and her boyfriend was discovered lying on the ground just outside the car’s open door, police said.
The dead man, Yen Chun Hwang, 22, and his girlfriend, Yan Wang, 23 had been in the car with the air conditioning turned on, police said. The garage door at 40-18 Aske Ave. was closed and the deaths appeared to be accidental, police said.
Both were discovered unclothed by Hwang’s family, police said.
A police investigation was ongoing and the medical examiner was to determine the causes of death, police said.
Astoria man charged with shooting co-worker
ASTORIA—An Astoria man was arrested last Thursday and charged with attempted murder after he allegedly shot a co-worker twice in the abdomen, police said.
Police arrested Thomas Marcum, 50, of 31-05 44th St., at the scene of the crime, which took place inside 300 North Henry Street in the confines of Brooklyn’s 94th Precinct shortly after noon, they said.
Marcum was charged with attempted murder and criminal posession of a weapon, police said.
The shooting appeared to be the result of an ongoing dispute, said police, who recovered a .22 caliber automatic handgun at the scene.
Heroin addict robbery suspect escapes from hospital custody
ELMHURST — A 16-year-old girl arrested on charges of robbing a store escaped from custody while being treated for a heroin addiction at Elmhurst Hospital Center Tuesday, police said.
The girl and three men allegedly robbed the Zarkous Jewelry Store at 37-61 89th St. in Jackson Heights at 11:05 a.m. Monday, police said.
At 8:45 p.m. that evening, police arrested the four at the girl’s home in Corona, police said.
The girl was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center to be treated for a heroin addiction, police said.
At 11:10 p.m. Tuesday, the girl slipped out of her handcuffs and fled on foot from the Hospital, police said.
Officer arrested for DWI after Forest Hills accident
FOREST HILLS — A Manhattan police officer was arrested and suspended from duty Monday after he was involved in an accident at 12:52 a.m. on the Grand Central Parkway at Jewel Avenue in Forest Hills, police said.
Juan Jimenez of the 33rd Precinct was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, police said.
No one was seriously injured in the crash, police said.
Man shot by friend in Corona mishap
CORONA — A 40-year-old man was shot three times in the torso by his 40-year-old friend at 5 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
The wounded man was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center in stable condition, and the shooter was apprehended, police said.
Police did not provide the exact location of the shooting.
Ridgewood man convicted of killing reputed drug boss
RIDGEWOOD — A Ridgewood drug dealer was convicted of murder in the May 2000 execution-style shooting death of his reputed drug-gang boss, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Wilfredo Perez, 23, of 64-02 Catalpa Ave. in Ridgewood, was convicted of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon on June 26 after a two-hour jury deliberation, Brown said. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 24.
According to trial testimony, Perez shot Brooklyn resident Sollie Graham, 40, a reputed drug dealer, once in the head on St. Felix Avenue after they had breakfast the morning of May 21, 2000. Graham was slain so Perez could take over his drug operation, Brown said.
