By Gabriel Rom
An MTA train operator has been charged in the death of a well-known Forest Hills jeweler, police said.
Charles Johnson, 46 of Valley Stream L.I., was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree murder with depraved indifference and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the death, police said Thursday afternoon.
Aron Aranbayev, 40, was allegedly run over by Johnson in front of his Forest hills home on 71st Avenue by 110th street July 19, according to police. He died at Jamaica Hospital the next day.
Police had circulated a video of a dark colored Dodge Magnum at the scene.
Aranbayev, who was a co-owner of Rafaello & Co., an exclusive Diamond District jewelry store in Manhattan, leaves behind a wife and three young children, including a 7-month-old baby. He was known as a jeweler for celebrities, including boxer Floyd Mayweather.
Reach reporter Gabriel Rom by e-mail at grom@
