A Queens grand jury indicted seven teenagers for attempted murder, gang assault, robbery, and other crimes for an attack on two girls inside Kissena Park in Flushing in early May.
The defendants, who are all 17 years old, were variously arraigned in Queens Supreme Court between June 4 and Wednesday in two separate 25-count indictments with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree. If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.
According to the charges, at around 6 p.m. on Friday, May 2, one of the defendants, a 17-year-old girl, lured a 13-year-old girl with whom she had been friends to Kissena Park after the two had a falling out about a month earlier. The 13-year-old girl went to the park and was playing basketball with a 16-year-old friend when they were approached by a group of approximately eight people, including the 17-year-old girl who lured the victim to the park.
The defendants instructed the teens to go to the woods, and members of the group threatened the younger teens by telling them that a beating on the concrete playground would be worse than in the woods. Once inside the tree line, the 16-year-old victim was struck multiple times in the head and body with an aluminum bat and gloves that had metal spikes on them. The victim’s sweater and $500 Air Jordan White Oreo sneakers were removed as the beating continued. The 13-year-old girl attempted to intervene but was kicked and punched multiple times and struck with the bat.
The 16-year-old was strangled and lost consciousness. At the same time, one of the teens allegedly partially shaved the victim’s head with battery-operated hair clippers and continued to assault the teen. The attackers then fled with the 16-year-old’s pricey sneakers, sweater and cell phone. The younger victim’s phone was broken by one of the teens who used the bat.
“As alleged, a group of students lured two younger teenagers into the woods of Kissena Park and relentlessly beat them with a metal baseball bat, punches and kicks,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Friday. “One victim was choked into unconsciousness by a defendant, while another perpetrator shaved the child’s head.”
A passerby called police, and the two victims were taken to area hospitals. The younger one suffered bruising and swelling all over the body and head, damage to the back of the eye, headaches and a concussion. The older victim had bruising and swelling, headaches, and memory loss, according to the indictment. The defendants were additionally charged with assault with a weapon, grand larceny, strangulation and harassment. They were arraigned before Queens Supreme Court Justice Bruna DiBiase.
“This was an outrageous act of mob violence,” Katz said. “And these children will never forget the cruelty they experienced at the hands of these defendants.”
Five defendants posted bail, one is being held on bail, and one is remanded into custody without bail. The release conditions were 100% school attendance, passport surrender, Intensive Community Monitoring and house arrest.
