A St. Albans man sits in a jail cell after being arrested last week on charges that he fatally shot a 21-year-old woman following a dispute on a neighborhood street earlier this month, prosecutors said.
Jonel Lattore, 34, of 199th Street was arraigned on Aug. 26 on second-degree counts of murder and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly killing Teriana Holcombe, 21, of Cambria Heights on the night of Aug. 15.
Earlier that evening, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Lattore got into a physical dispute with one of Holcombe’s friends. That friend was walking with Holcombe and several others in front of a store at the corner of 198th Street and Murdock Avenue at 9:23 p.m. on Aug. 15 when they heard someone call out to them.
When Holcombe and her companions turned around, prosecutors said, Lattore — who was with a group of people — allegedly opened fire, striking Holcombe in the head. He then fled the scene.
Officers from the 113th Precinct and EMS units responded to the incident. Holcombe was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Following an investigation, detectives picked up Lattore on Aug. 25; during his arraignment, he was ordered held without bail and to return to court on Sept. 8. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life behind bars.
“The senseless killing of this young woman is another example of why we must remain vigilant in the fight against illegal firearms,” Brown said in a statement. “The victim in this case was just 21 years old and could have lived a long, fulfilling life if not for this needless gun violence.”
