Two Virginia men were criminally charged in Queens Supreme Court Monday for the fatal shooting of a man in South Jamaica nearly two years ago.
Marquis Brown, 25, of Alexandria, Va., and Joseph Woods, 38, of Dolphin, Va. were arraigned on a five-count indictment charging them with murder for gunning down 48-year-old Yaw Pabi as they fired into a crowd.
According to the charges, video surveillance shows that on the night of Apr. 16, 2022, Brown and Woods exited a parked silver Hyundai sedan while wearing face masks and approached a group of men — including Pabi, his brother, and cousin — who were standing on the sidewalk in front of 117-09 Guy R. Brewer Blvd. at approximately 10 p.m.
Brown and Woods fired at least 15 shots in their direction. Pabi, who had no known connections to the alleged gunmen, was hit in the head and torso. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed Pabi to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where he was pronounced dead as a result of his injuries. The gunfire injured no one else.
Brown and Woods ran back to the Hyundai and sped away from the scene. An investigation using video surveillance and license plate readers placed the Hyundai at a deli in Hamilton Heights in Manhattan earlier in the day. Video surveillance showed Brown and Woods inside the deli wearing the same clothes they were wearing during the shooting later that night.
The store video also showed a man in the defendant’s group purchasing face masks and gloves that the defendants appeared to have been wearing during the shooting.
Brown and Woods were later identified by law enforcement officers in Virginia, where the two men reside. They were arrested in Virginia on Mar. 12 and extradited back to Queens last week to face charges.
“We are charging the defendants with a cold-blooded murder in yet another act of deadly gun violence,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “We will continue fighting this scourge of guns and bloodshed with everything we have, both on the streets and in our courts.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise ordered Brown to return to court on Apr. 25 and Woods on May 21. They face up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
