Flushing resident Yang Zhang was charged with murder, burglary and other crimes in the fatal stabbing of a 41-year-old man that took place in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 22, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Zhang, 35, of 147th Street, was arraigned Monday night before Queens Criminal Court Judge Anthony Battisti on a five-count criminal complaint charging him with murder in the second degree, burglary in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
According to the charges, at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday, Zhang allegedly entered the third-floor apartment of the victim, Yat Ming Wong on the 132-00 block of 57th Road in Flushing, after climbing onto the unit’s balcony and after a brief verbal altercation, Zhang allegedly used a sharp object to repeatedly stab Wong several times in the legs, neck and arms.
Officers from the 109th Precinct in Flushing responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress at the apartment and found Wong unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the crime scene and pronounced the man dead.
“This brutal act of violence is compounded by the seemingly random nature of the attack,” Katz said. “As alleged, this defendant entered the home of the victim without permission in the middle of the night and violently stabbed him to death. Thankfully, the victim’s wife escaped but must now cope with the tragedy of losing her loved one. The defendant now faces justice in our courts for his alleged crimes.”
Judge Battisti ordered the defendant to return to court on May 26. If convicted, Zhang faces 25 years to life in prison.
