By Rebecca Henely
Two men were killed at separate spots close to Junction Boulevard within 12 hours of each other, marking the end to a bloody Sunday that saw at least three murders committed.
Tesfari Davis, 32, crashed a car Sunday near Horace Harding Expressway and Junction Boulevard at 8:33 p.m. and was found by police with bullet holes in his neck and leg, the NYPD said. Tesfari was brought by EMS to Elmhurst Hospital, where the Corona man was later pronounced dead, police said.
In the same precinct 12 hours later, police discovered 89-year-old Demaso Llano early Monday morning lying dead in his home, at 43rd Avenue near Junction Boulevard, with trauma to his face, authorities said.
In both cases, the police had not made any arrests as of TimesLedger’s afternoon press time.
Davis lived at 55-25 98th Place in Corona, not far away from the major intersection where he was found and where the neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst and Rego Park meet. He had been trying to drive to the hospital due to his gunshot wounds when he crashed, police said.
Davis had previously been arrested on charges of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal sale of a controlled substance, police said.
Davis’ brother, who was in the apartment complex where his brother lived Monday, declined to comment on his death.
Llano, a Cuban immigrant, was a longtime resident of Elmhurst and one of three co-owners of the El Mundo Supermarket, at 42-16 Junction Blvd., according to supermarket employee Carmen Vizcaino.
“He was a very kind person,” said Vizcaino. “He didn’t bother nobody. He didn’t hurt nobody.”
Vizcaino, who works as a secretary at the supermarket and is the wife of one of the other owners, said Llano had lived in the neighborhood and been an owner of the store for 42 years. He was divorced and had three grown children: two sons and a daughter.
She said she believed the death was the result of a robbery.
“Somebody break into the house and hurt him, that’s what I assume,” Vizcaino said.
Other slayings in the borough included the deaths of Tysheen Davis in Astoria Houses and Theodore Thomas in Jamaica Sunday. Another man, Robert Zaretz, was found dead in Calvary Cemetery Sunday.
No murders had previously occurred in the 110th Precinct in 2012, according to police statistics. In 2011, two murders were reported in the 110th, statistics show.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
