Sudanese Diplomat’s Wife Struck In Shoulder
A Jamaica teenager has been indicted for attempted murder for the shooting of the wife of a Sudanese diplomat who was hit by a stray bullet as she stood outside her Astoria apartment building with her two young children this past April.
Miguel Mata, 19, of 90th Avenue in Jamaica, was arraigned on Thursday, Aug. 2 before Queens County Supreme Court Justice Fernando M. Camacho on a seven-count indictment charging him each with one count of second-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of first-degree reckless endangerment, one count of second-degree assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Mata, who faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, was ordered held on $100,000 bail and to return to court on Sept. 17.
According to the charges, the 31- year-old victim was standing in front of her apartment building on 31st Drive in Astoria with her three-year- old daughter and her infant son in her arms at approximately 7:25 p.m. on Apr. 20, when she was hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet allegedly fired by Mata at a group of teenagers. The victim was transported to a local Queens hospital where she was treated for her injuries.
“This was a shocking incident in which a woman with an infant in her arms and a toddler by her side was almost killed outside her home,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “Fortunately, she survived her terrifying ordeal. Yet, the case is just one more glaring example of mindless gun-related violence that recklessly puts people’s lives at risk.”
The investigation was conducted by detectives assigned to the New York City Police Department’s 114th Precinct.
Assistant District Attorney Joseph T. Palazzolo II, of the District Attorney’s Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant
District Attorneys Mariela Palomino Herring, Bureau Chief, Michelle E. Goldstein, Deputy Bureau Chief and Michael E. Brovner, Supervisor, and the overall supervision of Senior Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials James C. Quinn and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials Robert J. Masters.
It was noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
