A Jamaica man will spend two decades behind bars for the attempted murder of two men in South Ozone Park in 2017, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Friday, March 4.
Terrence Harry, 40, of 119th Avenue, was found guilty in November of attempted murder in the second degree following a two-week-long bench trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michelle Johnson, who on March 3 sentenced Harry Thursday to 20 years in prison to be followed by five years post-release supervision.
According to trial testimony, on Sept. 23, 2017, Harry was inside a residential garage of homeowner Myron Hennings. A third man, Shamel Potter, 39, was also present at the location.
The defendant, who was a stranger to Potter, without provocation pulled out a knife and stabbed Potter in the neck. Witnessing the attack, Hennings tried to intervene and grabbed Harry, who turned on the homeowner, who tried to move away but was stabbed once in the back. Harry fled the scene immediately after the attack.
A branch of Potter’s carotid artery was severed in the attack, and his trachea was in danger of being disabled as a result of the stabbing. He underwent emergency surgery, was intubated for several days and was unable to eat solid food for months. Hemmings required multiple staples to close the stab wound he sustained during the attack, according to trial testimony.
“The defendant’s unprovoked knife attack could have ended the lives of the two victims,” Katz said. “Both men sustained very serious injuries, including one victim surviving a severed artery and collapsed trachea. The court has ordered the defendant to prison with a sentence that hopefully provides a measure of justice to his victims.”
