A Kew Gardens Hills man was arrested for allegedly shooting two men during a dispute over a parking spot right across the street from the gunman’s apartment house on the night of Sunday, Nov. 3.
Alan Rodriguez, 22, of 147-24 79th Ave. was arraigned on Monday night in Queens Criminal Court on a complaint charging him two counts of attempted murder in the second degree and other related crimes.
The two victims were standing alongside a silver Toyota that was double-parked in front of 147-27 79th Ave. at around 8:30 p.m. when they saw Rodriguez step out of a black vehicle with New York plates with a man in the driver’s seat and a woman in the backseat, according to the criminal complaint. Rodriguez began to argue with the two men and pulled out a black firearm with an extended clip. As the woman in the black vehicle shouted, “Stop. Don’t do it,” Rodriguez opened fire, striking the 41-year-old victim in his left knee and the 34-year-old victim in his left foot.
Police from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows responded to a 911 call of shots fired at the location and found the injured men on the roadway, but Rodriguez and the black vehicle were not at the scene. An eyewitness told the cops that the gunman wore all-black clothing and had curly hair. EMS responded to the location and rushed the wounded men to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition, according to an NYPD spokesman.
Back at the crime scene, an officer from the 107th Precinct recovered five 9mm shell casings at the crime scene and saw a man wearing black clothing with curly hair. The witness told the officer that the man was Alan Rodriguez. The officer took him into custody just after midnight. Rodriguez told the officer, “ I was protecting myself. I have a kid,” according to the criminal complaint.
In addition to the attempted murder charges, Rodriguez was also charged with assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, and criminal possession of a weapon.
The Queens District Attorney’s office requested Rodriguez be remanded into custody without bail. Queens Criminal Court Judge Jerry Iannece instead set bail at $1 million.
