Feb. 12, 2012 By Christian Murray
The police arrested a man on Thursday who allegedly murdered a Berkeley Towers resident in October.
Raymond Epps, 55, strangled Wayne Graves in his 11th floor apartment at 52-40 39th Drive, according to police. Graves, 62, was found dead in his bathtub on Oct. 19 by his superintendent with a wound to his head from a blunt instrument, according to reports at the time.
The police had their sights on Epps for some time but he was in custody in Boston on other charges. After his time was served, the Boston resident was then extradited back to Queens.
Epps faces murder, robbery, grand larceny, possession of stolen goods and petite larceny charges.
Meanwhile, the police arrested eight individuals at the end of December for stealing prescription pads as a means to get oxycodone. The individuals traveled from the Bronx to a pharmacy on Skillman Ave. to get the drugs and paid the pharmacy cash. The police would not name the pharmacy.
“Some pharmacies check up on people, others don’t. I guess these guys came from the Bronx since they had heard they could try this place,” said Captain Donald Powers, the head of police precinct 108.
No charges have been filed against the pharmacist.
In other news, the police said that they don’t have any leads in identifying the man who attempted to rob GameStop at 48th Street & QB while carrying a firearm, police said. The alleged perpetrator went around the back of the counter to steal property but left the store with nothing.
Meanwhile, the number of reported crimes declined in the past 28 days across Precinct 108, which covers Sunnyside/Woodside/LIC. Major crime was down 9% for the past 28 days through Feb. 5 compared to the same period in 2011. These numbers are based on those crimes reported among the following seven major crime categories.
0 (2012), 0 murder
1 (2012), 3 rape
10 (2012), 15 robbery
6 (2012), 8 felony assault
26 (2012), 20 burglaries
39 (2012), 38 grand larcenies
12 (2012), 19 grand larceny auto
