By Bill Parry
A reputed member of the Sureño 13 street gang has been charged with murder, gang assault and weapons possession for the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old Elmhurst man following a verbal argument earlier this month, the Queens district attorney said.
DA Richard Brown identified the defendant as Raul Zamora, 33, of Jackson Heights in the broad daylight shooting death of Corona resident Jorge Manzanarez, 33, on May 5.
Zamora approached Manzanarez at the corner of Roosevelt and Whitney avenues with two other men, who are still at large, and shot the victim once in the chest, according to the criminal complaint filed by the DA’s office. Manzanarez was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center where he died later that day.
“The defendant is accused of settling a verbal dispute with deadly gunfire,” Brown said. “By his alleged senseless actions, the defendant has shown a total disregard for human life and now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars.”
Zamora was arraigned Sunday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Dorothy Chin-Brandt on charges of second-degree murder, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon, the DA said. Zamora, who faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted, was ordered held without bail and to return to court June 1.
The investigation was conducted by detectives assigned to the NYPD’s 110th Precinct Detective Squad. The search for the two other men continued.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
