A Flushing fugitive failed to return to court before trial and was convicted in absentia on Monday for a violent armed robbery of a young woman at her Parsons Boulevard apartment with two accomplices in 2022.
Michael Fan, 25, of Farrington Street, was found guilty of multiple burglary and robbery counts and an unlawful imprisonment charge before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gary Miret on May 19.
Fan appeared in court before Justice Miret on April 28. The case was adjourned for an afternoon call, and the defendant was instructed not to leave the Kew Gardens courtroom, but Fan slipped out of the building and failed to return to court. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
Fan remains at large but was tried and convicted in absentia and faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced. Co-defendant Sihao Wang, 24, of Booth Memorial Ave., in Flushing, pleaded guilty on Jan. 18, 2024 of attempted robbery in the second degree and was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of post-release supervision. Co-defendant Dong Ming Shi, 24, of 58th Avenue, also in Flushing, is another fugitive who is believed to have fled the country.
According to the charges, the 20-year-old victim was having a smoke in front of her home on Parson Boulevard at around 3 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2022, when Fan and his accomplices, all dressed in black and wearing black masks, grabbed her and dragged her into her apartment.
While inside, Fan pulled out a knife and demanded the victim’s cell phone, and took her into a separate room where her hands were zip-tied together. The victim’s partner, who was in the basement, observed the home invasion on video surveillance and called police.
When an officer from the 109th Precinct in Flushing responded to the scene, he saw Fan through a window. At that time, the victim was able to free her hands from zip ties and ran outside, opening a gate that gave the police access to the building. All three perpetrators fled the rear of the location. Wang was immediately apprehended and dropped an air pistol during the brief chase. The responding officer recovered the victim’s cell phone from Wang’s pocket. A lieutenant from the 109th Precinct apprehended Shi minutes later. The lieutenant continued the search, and he located Fan hiding under a deck in an adjacent backyard. Fan was taken into custody, and $1,441 in cash was recovered from his pocket.
“Michael Fan attacked a young woman as she smoked a cigarette in front of her home,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “She was tied up and held at knifepoint while this defendant and his accomplices ransacked the residence and stole money. Thanks to the quick intervention by the woman’s partner, police were quickly notified, and the woman was able to escape unharmed while the assailants were captured.”
Katz appealed for the public’s help in finding Fan. “The defendant is at large after his trial conviction,” Katz said. “And I encourage anyone with information about Michael Fan to call the NYPD Warrant Squad at 917-319-3780.”
