A Jamaica man was indicted by a Queens grand jury for fatally stabbing his younger brother during an argument in July at the multi-unit residential building where the two men lived on separate floors, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Henry Gutierrez, 32, of Jamaica Avenue, was arraigned Dec. 7 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise on a three-count indictment charging him with murder, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
According to the charges, at around 6:20 p.m. on July 12, Gutierrez was in the second-floor apartment of his 25-year-old brother Oscar Gutierrez. The brothers argued and the defendant allegedly stabbed his brother 12 times in the neck, torso, groin and arm. Family members inside the home called the NYPD, but the defendant fled the scene before officers from the 103rd Precinct arrived. A knife was recovered at the scene and identified as the weapon that was used in the attack.
EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the victim to nearby Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Homicide detectives tracked the defendant to Florida where he had been hiding for nearly four months. He was taken into custody and subsequently extradited back to Queens on Friday, Dec. 2 to face justice.
“This is a horrific family tragedy,” Katz said. “One brother is dead, another faces life in prison and everyone else is left to grieve and mourn and deal for the rest of their lives with the emotional trauma. In the fallen brother’s memory, we will seek justice.”
Justice Aloise set the defendant’s next court date for Jan 24. If convicted, Gutierrez faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
