By Ivan Pereira
A week after they allegedly murdered a Jamaica woman right in front of her husband in a struggle over stealing her purse, three teenagers were arrested by the authorities and charged in connection with her death, investigators said.
The Sunday arrests and arraignments came four days after the NYPD put out a $12,000 reward for information looking for the suspects who killed Rabia Mohammed near her home on 93rd Avenue and 204th Street March 13.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown had harsh words for the teens who were held without bail following their arraignment.
“The defendants are accused of committing a robbery at gunpoint and robbing their victim of her most precious possession: her life. Their alleged actions have caused a great deal of pain and irreconcilable loss to the victim’s husband and family,” he said in a statement.
Tiyquon Hodges, 16, of 154th Street, and his two alleged 17-year-old accomplices, Corey Brown of Brooklyn and Ian Green of 115th Avenue, were charged with second degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and robbery, DA Brown said.
Mohammed, 23, was with her husband Shazam Khan around 8:30 p.m. on 204th Street when the trio approached the couple from behind and threw Kahn on the ground, the DA said. “Give me the bag” one of the suspects allegedly ordered Mohammed, who had been married for five months, according to DA Brown.
The wife struggled with Green and Brown and screamed for help as they tried to take her purse away, DA Brown said. Green allegedly displayed a 9mm and opened fire striking Mohammed in the chest once, according to DA Brown.
She died at Jamaica Hospital a short time later.
The suspects walked away and were videotaped strolling nonchalantly down the block by surveillance cameras, police said.
After his arrest, Green admitted that he, Hodges and Brown robbed the couple because he needed money, the criminal complaint said. Green allegedly told investigators he fired the gun accidentally during the scuffle, according to the criminal complaint.
The trio has also been charged with other robberies that took place in southeast Queens March 16, last Thursday and Friday, according to the DA’s office. Residents said the neighborhood had a surge in robberies over the last couple of months.
Brown was also charged for driving without a license and criminal trespass when he was picked up by an officer Saturday morning, the DA’s office said. An girl was with him in the 2002 Chrysler that was parked in a no trespass railroad zone at Grace Court and 90th Avenue in Jamaica.
None of the teen’s parents or guardians could be contacted for comment.
Queens Criminal Court Judge Joseph A. Zayas ordered the teens to return to court March 25, DA Brown said. If convicted on their charges, they face up to 25 years to life in prison, according to the DA.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
