A Bronx man was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Wednesday for brutally beating a 50-year-old man in Astoria and then stealing the victim’s car and deliberately running over his unconscious body, causing his death in October 2023.
Zahir Williams, 26, of Beck Street in the Longwood section of the Bronx, pleaded guilty on Oct. 14 to manslaughter in the first degree in satisfaction of the indictment charges against him in the killing of Francisco Ortega, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
According to the charges and investigation, on the morning of Friday, Oct. 20, at around 3:30 a.m., Ortega was driving a BMW sedan and stopped his car in front of 40-06 Astoria Blvd. near Williams and two other men. Williams approached the BMW and engaged Ortega in a conversation. Ortega got out of his BMW and continued speaking with Williams and his co-defendant, with whom the victim had a brief verbal dispute before Ortega drove away.
At approximately 3:55 a.m., Ortega returned to the area and stopped at a red light at the intersection of Steinway Street and Astoria Boulevard. Williams and his co-defendant approached the driver’s side of the car. Ortega pulled the vehicle over, exited, and stood next to his car with the door ajar, and spoke with Williams. As the two men were speaking, another individual approached Ortega from behind and punched him in the back of the head. The victim fell and struck his head on the car. As Ortega lay on the ground, Williams and others repeatedly kicked and punched him, according to the charges.
Williams then stepped over the unconscious Ortega and entered the driver’s side of the victim’s BMW. Attempting to close the door, Williams repeatedly slammed Ortega’s head and body, according to the investigation. Williams’ co-defendant pulled Ortega’s body away from the side of the car toward the center of the roadway. Williams shut the door and pulled away.
Williams drove Ortega’s car around the block and plotted a deliberate approach to Ortega, who was still lying in the road unconscious, according to the charges. Williams slowed down, aligned the vehicle with Ortega’s body, then abruptly accelerated and drove over the victim. Williams dragged Ortega’s body several feet before ramming into a parked car. He then abandoned the stolen BWW and ran from the scene of the crime southbound on Steinway Street.
Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria responded to a 911 call of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle and found Ortega lying unconscious and unresponsive at the intersection of Astoria Boulevard South and Steinway Street. EMS rushed Ortega to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead due to multiple blunt impact injuries. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, he was alive when Williams drove over him.
“Zahir Williams was sentenced today for an act of shocking cruelty and violence,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “After a brutal physical assault against 50-year-old Francisco Ortega, the defendants left him unconscious in the street and stole the defenseless man’s car. Williams then returned to the scene and used the car as a weapon that ended Ortega’s life.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder sentenced Williams to 24 years in prison to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
