Jamaica resident Quame Truitt was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after pleading guilty earlier this month to threatening a transgender woman with an illegal firearm last fall, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Truitt, 24, of 162nd Street, pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Frances Wang.
According to court records, on Sept. 5, 2021, the woman was walking along Truitt’s street in Jamaica just after 6 p.m when she encountered the defendant. When the two were near each other, Truitt reached toward his waist and told the victim, “You don’t belong here.”
Truitt pulled a pistol from a bag and pointed it at the victim, Katz said. The woman got away from Truitt and found a police officer in a nearby patrol car and alerted him of what had happened moments earlier. She also provided the police officer with a description of the man who pointed the handgun at her.
Truitt was taken into custody a short time later following a pursuit and police recovered the illegal firearm in an area trash can.
“The defendant threatened a transgender woman just because she is a transgender woman,” Katz said. “While being chased by police, the defendant discarded the gun. It was recovered and the defendant apprehended. He has now been sentenced by the court for his criminal actions.”
Justice Wang sentenced Truitt as a “violent predicate felon” to five years in prison, to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
“The diversity of Queens County is our greatest strength and we will not tolerate acts of violence based on someone’s race, gender or appearance,” Katz said.
