By Dustin Brown
A homeless man from Flushing was convicted last week of stabbing to death two employees at an Astoria supermarket in a midnight robbery a week before Christmas in 2000, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Troy Brown, 42, was convicted May 13 on four counts of second-degree murder by a jury of six men and six women, who deliberated for less than two hours at the end of a four-week trial in Queens Supreme Court, the DA said.
Currently homeless, Brown had previous lived at the Pomonok Houses on Kissena Boulevard in Flushing, the DA said.
“The defendant's conduct was violent and brutal and warrants imposition of a maximum sentence,” the district attorney said in a statement. “I hope that the jury's verdict offers a measure of solace to the families of the victims.”
Troy Brown faces a sentence of 50 years to life in prison when he is sentenced June 16 before Justice Robert Hanophy, who presided over the trial.
Brown entered and hid himself inside the Trade Fair supermarket at 37-11 Ditmars Blvd. shortly before its midnight closing on Dec. 17, 2000, the DA said.
He later attacked and stabbed to death two employees, stealing cash and personal property from one of them as well as $4,000 from the supermarket office before he broke a front window and fled, the DA said. A 17-inch knife was recovered along with 22 blood samples at the crime scene.
The victims were both immigrants who worked to send money back home to their families: Pedro Narvaez, 45, supported his children, wife and mother in Ecuador, and Lucio Moran, 36, left behind family in Mexico.
Brown had been summoned to the 114th Precinct's station house for questioning when telephone records showed he had called the store several months before the killing from Riker's Island, where he was being held in another case, law enforcement sources said.
He showed up with a makeshift bandage covering a four-inch puncture wound between his thumb and forefinger, an injury Brown claimed he accidentally suffered while cutting steak, the DA said.
But when detectives convinced him to get medical treatment from EMS workers, they saved the blood-stained napkin, which matched blood found on the knife and a basement sink at the supermarket, the DA said.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
