A South Jamaica man was booked on Thursday nearly eight years after he allegedly gunned down a South Ozone Park resident during a house party.
Troy Thomas, 33, of 156th Street faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the Dec. 11, 2011 murder of Frank Keith, 20, of 129th Street.
According to Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryan, Thomas was located in Guyana and recently arrested; he has since been extradited back to Queens for prosecution. Thomas allegedly shot Keith during what was described as a “petty dispute.”
“The defendant has been on the run for seven years, but today, he is in our custody and will answer for the senseless killing of a 20-year-old man,” Ryan said. “The family of the victim deserves justice for their deceased loved one.”
Sources familiar with the investigation said that Thomas and Keith were known to each other, but declined to elaborate on that association. The motive behind the shooting was also withheld.
Keith was fatally shot in the torso outside of a party at a home on 132nd Street near 109th Avenue at about 4:44 a.m. on the morning in question.
Paramedics responding to the scene rushed Keith to New York Hospital of Queens, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Nearly eight years later, “good police work” led detectives to Thomas, a law enforcement source said.
During an April 25 arraignment hearing, Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder ordered Thomas held without bail and to return to court on June 13. The suspect faces up to 25 years to life behind bars if convicted, Ryan added.
This story was updated on April 25 at 4:10 p.m.
