A second Far Rockaway man has been criminally charged in connection to the 2021 fatal drive-by shooting of 10-year-old Justin Wallace in the doorway of his Arverne home.
Ashram “Kevin” Lochan, 29, of Beach 45th Street in Edgemere, was arraigned Thursday night before Queens Criminal Court Marty Lentz on a criminal complaint charging him with murder, attempted murder, and other crimes.
Detectives from the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway rearrested Lochan following his release from prison where he served 15 months on weapons charges after an arsenal of firearms was discovered in his home after police executed a court-authorized search warrant in July 2021 as part of the homicide investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, following eyewitness accounts and video surveillance of the shooting, it was determined that Lochan “worked in concert” with his cousin, 29-year-old Jovan Young of the Ocean Bay Apartments in Arverne on the night of Saturday, June 5, 2021.
Young fired his handgun multiple times at Wallace’s uncle, Kyle Forrester as he entered the front door of the home at 458 Beach 69th St. Forrester was struck three times in his back, once in his neck, and once in his hand. His nephew Justin, a 5th-grade student at Challenge Charter School, suffered a deadly gunshot wound to the heart as he was standing by the doorway.
EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the youngster to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway where he was declared dead. His uncle was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Center where he was treated for his gunshot wounds and survived. Young was arrested two days later and indicted by a Queens grand jury and criminally charged with murder, assault, and weapons charges. He remains detained at Rikers Island awaiting trial.
After he was arrested and booked at the 101st Precinct on Thursday morning, law enforcement sources told Dean Moses of amNew York Metro that Lochan was the mastermind behind the fatal drive-by shooting that night and allegedly commanded Young to open fire on Forrester due to an argument the two men had over a shared parking space in the driveway of the home.
Lochan was peppered with questions from reporters as he was led out of the 101st Precinct by detectives but he refused to answer as he was transferred to Queens Criminal Court for his arraignment Thursday.
“No parent should ever have to experience the horror of losing a child to gun violence,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “While we cannot bring back Justin Wallace, 10, we can achieve justice for him. This defendant may have thought he got away with murder, but he will be held to account thanks to the dedication of the NYPD and my Homicide Bureau.”
Judge Lentz ordered Lochan held without bail after deeming him a flight risk. His next court date is scheduled for Aug. 1.
