D.A. Bragg Announces Indictment For Fatal Stabbing In Washington Heights Subway Station

 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the indictment of DIEGO FIGUEROA-HEPNER, 24, for fatally stabbing 40-year-old Johnny Medina at a subway station in Washington Heights in June 2024. FIGUEROA-HEPNER is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count each of Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree. [1] 

“As alleged, Diego Figureoa-Hepner committed a senseless, vicious act when he stabbed and took the life of Johnny Medina, a vibrant, positive and creative person, inside a Manhattan subway station,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Our transit system is a cornerstone of our city and we will continue holding people accountable who exploit it as a place to bring weapons and commit violent conduct. Mr. Medina was part of an incredible, tight-knit community and my thoughts remain with his family and loved ones as they continue mourning his loss.” 

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, on June 21, 2024, at approximately 5:40 p.m., FIGUEROA-HEPNER followed Mr. Medina, whom he was acquainted with, into the 175 Street subway station, near West 175th Street and Fort Washington Avenue. While on the subway mezzanine, FIGUEROA-HEPNER approached, confronted and initiated a fight with Mr. Medina. During the fight, FIGUEROA-HEPNER pulled out a knife and began chasing Mr. Medina.   

At approximately 5:48 p.m., as Mr. Medina attempted to escape up the stairs, FIGUEROA-HEPNER stabbed him several times, causing Mr. Medina to fall at the bottom of the stairs. Mr. Medina suffered stab wounds to the neck, shoulder and torso. He was eventually transported to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

FIGUEROA-HEPNER fled the station, walking northbound on Fort Washington Avenue. He was arrested the next day.  

Assistant D.A. Charles Whitt (Chief of Trial Bureau 60) is handling the prosecution of this case, with the assistance of Meaghan Dunigan and Edward Smith (Trial Bureau 60), under the supervision of Executive Assistant D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division).  

D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, particularly Detective Alejandro Rivas, Detective Vianny Madera and Detective Matthew Kasler of the 33rd Precinct and Detective Heriberto Vasquez of the Manhattan North Borough Homicide Squad. He also thanked the other members of the 33rd Precinct, as well as the members of the 34th Precinct and Transit Division District 3.   

[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court. 

Riverhead Man Sentenced to 25 Years' Imprisonment for Conspiring to Distribute Large Quantities of Narcotics, Including Fentanyl, on the East End of Long Island

 

Douglas’s Distribution of Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Caused Four Deaths in the Summer of 2021

Marquis Douglas, a narcotics trafficker who operated a narcotics business that was responsible for the distribution of large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl and other illicit substances throughout the North Fork of Long Island, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 25 years’ imprisonment.  Douglas pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiring with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, more than one kilogram of heroin, more than 280 grams of crack cocaine, more than 40 grams of fentanyl and a quantity of fentanyl analogue (fluorofentanyl), and distribution of cocaine and fluorofentanyl on or about August 12, 2021, which resulted in the overdose deaths of four people.  

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Raymond A. Tierney, Suffolk County District Attorney, announced the sentence.

“Douglas’s singular contribution to the opioid epidemic on Long Island is horrific as the drugs he distributed contributed to the deaths of four human beings,” stated United States Attorney Peace.   “This lengthy sentence should serve as a deterrent to those endangering our communities by distributing potentially lethal drugs. It is my hope that holding the defendant accountable for the terrible consequences of his actions will bring a measure of closure to the victims’ families.”

U.S. Attorney Peace also extended his thanks to the Riverhead Police Department, the Southold Police Department, the Shelter Island Police Department and the New York State Police for their assistance with the investigation.

“Marquis Douglas’s unlawful narcotics trafficking operation resulted in the deaths of four individuals on Long Island and posed a significant threat to the welfare of its citizens. His actions fueled an ongoing epidemic by supplying lethal drugs to our community. The FBI is committed to disrupting the flow of these illicit substances in our streets to prevent future unnecessary fatalities,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Curtis.

“This defendant dealt multiple kilograms of various deadly drugs, resulting in four tragic overdose deaths. This underscores why New York State needs to adequately address the opioid overdose epidemic plaguing communities throughout NY state and the country,” said District Attorney Tierney. "Thankfully, the strong collaboration between our office and our federal law enforcement partners allowed this case to be charged federally and provide justice for the families of these victims.”

On August 13, 2021, four men were found dead on the East End of Long Island after using cocaine that had been laced with a fentanyl analogue.  An investigation by the Southold Police Department, the Shelter Island Police Department, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI determined that Douglas was the source of the lethal narcotics.  In August of 2021, Douglas’ operation distributed a quantity of cocaine laced with a fentanyl analogue in Greenport, New York.  When this product was re-distributed at the street level, it ultimately led to four fatal overdoses on a single day in Greenport and Shelter Island.  Douglas had distributed multiple kilograms of cocaine over the years, as well as kilogram level quantities of heroin and large quantities of fentanyl. At the time of his arrest in May of 2022, Douglas was found in possession of 105 grams of fentanyl and 135 grams of cocaine. 

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Release of Body Worn Camera Footage from an Officer Involved Shooting that Occurred on June 1, 2024 in the confines of the 23rd Precinct

 

The NYPD is releasing today body-worn camera footage from an officer-involved shooting that occurred on June 1st, 2024 in the confines of the 23rd Precinct..

The video includes available evidence leading up to the incident as well as during the incident. The NYPD is releasing this video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident.

All NYPD patrol officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. The benefits of cameras are clear: transparency into police activity, de-escalation of police encounters and accountability for police officers, through an independent account of interactions between the police and the citizens they serve. Body-worn cameras serve as a vital part of ongoing efforts to increase trust between the police and all New Yorkers.

You can find the video here

Release of Body Worn Camera Footage from an Officer Involved Shooting that Occurred on May 24, 2024 in the confines of the 75th Precinct

 

The NYPD is releasing today body-worn camera footage from an officer-involved shooting that occurred on May 24th, 2024 in the confines of the 75th Precinct..

The video includes available evidence leading up to the incident as well as during the incident. The NYPD is releasing this video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident.

All NYPD patrol officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. The benefits of cameras are clear: transparency into police activity, de-escalation of police encounters and accountability for police officers, through an independent account of interactions between the police and the citizens they serve. Body-worn cameras serve as a vital part of ongoing efforts to increase trust between the police and all New Yorkers.

You can find the video here

NYC Council Calls Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission a Sham for Trying to Block Voters’ Rights and Undermine Democracy with Rushed Changes to City’s Constitution in Final Report

 

New Yorkers are slated to vote on existing advice-and-consent ballot question in November, but commission could block their choice by rushing ballot proposals to undermine democratic oversight

City Council Members united in calling out the Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission for trying to block voters’ rights and undermine local democracy by rushing the development of new proposals that disenfranchise New Yorkers from voting on an existing advice-and-consent ballot question in November. The elected representatives of districts throughout the city had urged the Mayor’s Commission to instead use its full term to fulfill its responsibility, thoroughly reviewing the City Charter and developing proposals for the 2025 General Election with more extensive policy assessment and public engagement.

Council spokesperson, Julia Agos, issued the following statement in response to the Commission’s final report being released: “This Mayor’s sham Charter Revision Commission has done a disservice to New Yorkers by putting forward rushed proposals that block voters’ rights while undermining democracy and oversight of the Mayor’s administration. The lack of independence of the Mayor’s Commission has made a mockery of what should be a serious process, with their last hearing consisting of commissioners asking testifiers how many votes the Mayor received in the election and inaccurately claiming it was millions. This final report mirrors the commission’s rushed process with it issuing its final report less than 24 hours after this final hearing with hours of public testimony.

“The Mayor’s commission has put forward proposals that impact the Council without engaging us as the entity affected, different from the Council’s legislative process that the Mayor’s Commission has consistently attacked. It has engaged in a legislative process and failed to meet even the most basic requirements for openness and transparency that would be a fraction of the Council’s process. The Council urges this Commission and the Mayor’s Administration to avert this unnecessary and obvious disenfranchisement of voters. Let New Yorkers decide on the existing advice-and-consent ballot question this year instead of continuing with this undemocratic sham.”

The Council released a new video explaining the advice-and-consent proposal that New Yorkers will be able to vote on in November’s General Election, deciding whether 20 additional agency commissioners should require confirmation by the Council. However, the Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission had been rushing to develop new proposals that change the City’s constitution for the 2024 General Election to block New Yorkers from exercising their democratic right to vote on the existing proposal.

Advice-and-consent is a well-established safeguard of democracy to ensure government prioritizes the public interest rather than those of individuals, which has long been used in many of the nation’s cities and state governments, making New York City an outlier. Advice-and-consent can strengthen the city’s government and representative democracy by ensuring that the appointments for agency commissioners are based on qualifications and the public’s interests, rather than political loyalty or other motivations.

A Charter Revision Commission is a major process to change the City’s constitution, which requires a full review of the City Charter and the development of proposals to improve government. It should provide extensive ways for the public to engage and a thorough review of proposals with stakeholders. This Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission has operated on a rushed schedule of less than two months of meetings. However, the law that authorizes the Commission allows it to operate until November 2025, providing ample time to conduct a thorough constitutional review and develop thoughtful proposals. The City’s last Charter Revision Commission in 2019 operated for nearly eight months to review the Charter and advance proposals to the ballot.    

The advice-and-consent bill was introduced on May 23 and the Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission held its first meeting on May 29. The law (Int. 908-A) was adopted after the Council passed it in a near-unanimous, bipartisan vote of 46-4 on June 6.

Jeffrey Baker, Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislation and Policy, New York City Council: “Part of the reason the Council’s legislative process has drawn any attention is because it is open and transparent. That fact invites criticism. But most of the decisions that the Mayor and city agencies make daily affecting operations and policy require no public process at all. No fiscal impact statements are required, no public input is solicited, and no explanations are given. And because there is no public process for these decisions, our attention is focused on fine tuning the public process of one branch of city government that actually has one. Frequently, the only meaningful debate on the Mayor’s public policy decisions occurs at the Council, at oversight hearings, or while considering legislation. Weakening the Council’s ability to impact policy through legislation only empowers the office of the Mayor to set policy with no input whatsoever.

“Furthermore, when the Council is considering a bill that affects the operation of city government we always engage with the agencies or entities that we are regulating. We welcome the expression of legal, fiscal, logistical, and operational concerns. And we make amendments where we can without sacrificing the policy vision of the Council.

“As I testify today, we are three days away from what will likely be your final vote to approve ballot measures that may directly impact the operations of the New York City Council. And which may have serious implications to how public policy is formed in New York City. And as of today, no one knows what those measures will be. No one has been given an opportunity to meaningfully comment on them. And no one will have an opportunity to improve them through debate and public discourse. Least of all the entity you are seeking to regulate.

“If this Charter Commission is legitimately concerned about the ability of stakeholders to provide input during the legislative process, then it must recognize that it is currently engaged in a legislative process, and it is failing to meet even the most basic requirements for openness and transparency.”

Jason Otaño, General Counsel of the New York City Council: “The importance of an independent legislative branch was emphasized in the 1989 Charter Revision. In reality, the Council as we currently know it did not exist before then. It was that Charter revision that realigned the City government’s power structure to make the Council a more powerful, more representative co-equal counterpart to the Mayor to fulfill a key American principle: that a legislature serves as a check and balance to the executive branch.”

DRIVER WITH SUSPENDED LICENSE INDICTED FOR STRIKING E-BIKER WHILE FLEEING POLICE

 

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Harold Vega was indicted by a grand jury on charges of assault, leaving the scene of an incident and other related crimes after allegedly slamming into an e-bike rider while fleeing police in Astoria on July 3. Vega allegedly ran through 26 red lights and 14 stop signs while weaving in and out of traffic. During the incident, the defendant allegedly struck the bicyclist, which launched the victim into the air and caused him to sustain severe head trauma. The victim remains hospitalized.

District Attorney Katz said: “This was a high-speed chase in the very busy neighborhood of Astoria, which endangered the lives of every single person on the street. In order to evade police, Harold Vega blew through 26 red lights and 14 stop signs, drove against traffic and on the sidewalk, and through crowded streets at unsafe speeds on a hot summer afternoon. During the pursuit the defendant struck an innocent bicyclist who had the right of way, leaving a husband and father in critical condition with severe head trauma. The defendant’s alleged disregard for the rules of the road is shocking.”

Vega, 46, of Jackson Avenue in the Bronx, was arraigned today on a 13-count grand jury indictment charging him with assault in the first degree; reckless endangerment in the first degree; assault in the second degree; unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the second degree; leaving the scene of an accident without reporting; resisting arrest; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree; reckless driving; aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the second degree; operating a motor vehicle or permitting it to be operated in this state without having in full force financial security; operating or driving a motor vehicle without a license; operating or driving an unregistered motor vehicle; and driving without proper license plates.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis continued remand and set a return date of September 4. If convicted of the top count, Vega faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

According to the charges:

• On July 3, at approximately 4:33 p.m., an officer from the 114th Precinct observed a Gray 2003 Nissan Altima with a tinted cover obstructing its license plate at the intersection of 36th Avenue and 21st
• Upon doing a computer check, the officer learned that the license plate attached to the vehicle belonged to a different car.
• The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop by activating lights and sirens on his unmarked police vehicle at which point Vega stopped for approximately four seconds before he entered the intersection against a steady red light, made a U-turn and sped away.
• During the car chase that followed, the officer observed Vega speed through 25 additional steady red lights, 14 stop signs, drive against the flow of traffic, disregard double yellow lines, weave in and out of traffic, nearly strike multiple pedestrians, and drive onto the sidewalk to evade capture.
• When Vega drove through a steady red light at 31st Avenue and Crescent Street, he struck the victim, Arturo Aguirre Matias, who was riding an electric bicycle with pedals on Crescent Street. The victim was riding inside the marked bike lane with the flow of traffic and a green traffic signal in his favor.
• Vega did not stop and proceeded to drive recklessly until he collided with a parked car so forcefully that the airbags deployed.
• The entire vehicle chase spanned approximately 11 minutes through residential and commercial areas, including the blocks around Astoria Park on a hot summer afternoon.
• After Vega collided with the parked car he then fled on foot and was confronted by good Samaritans, who slowed him down enough that police could catch up to him near 24th Drive and 23rd Vega resisted arrest when police tried to handcuff him.
• The victim was transported to a local hospital where he continues to receive treatment for severe head trauma as a result of the collision.
• At the 114 Precinct, police recovered one glassine enveloped containing a quantity of cocaine from Vega’s pants pocket.
• At the time of the incident, the defendant’s driver’s license was suspended, the car he was operating was unregistered and uninsured, and the defendant had been convicted of the crime of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the preceding 18 months.

The investigation was conducted by members of the District Attorney’s Vehicular Homicide Unit as well as the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad.

Iranian National Extradited to United States for Alleged Scheme to Illicitly Ship Sophisticated Electronics to Iran

Iranian national Saeid Haji Agha Mousaei, 53, made his initial appearance yesterday in Chicago federal court following his extradition from the United Kingdom to face charges for his role in a years-long conspiracy to evade U.S. export restrictions and transship advanced U.S. electronic testing technology to Iran using third-party countries.

According to court documents, Mousaei was a manager of Dubai-based defendant company Millennium Product Company LLC (MPC). As alleged, from in or about January 2014 through at least August 2018, Mousaei, MPC and others, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain controlled electronics with military applications, including signals equipment like oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, for export and re-export to Iran.

As alleged, Mousaei and his co-defendants understood export restrictions on U.S.-origin goods to prohibited destinations like Iran and falsely represented to U.S. distributors that their purchases would remain in countries other than Iran, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Armenia, where the defendants controlled unnamed companies. In reality, after arranging for distributors of U.S.-origin goods to export shipments to the UAE, the defendants allegedly transshipped goods from the UAE to Iran without the required license and in violation of U.S. law.

Mousaei and MPC are each charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; smuggling goods from the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Mousaei was arrested in the United Kingdom on Jan. 24, 2023, pursuant to an Interpol diffusion notice.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois, Executive Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made the announcement.

The FBI and BIS are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn D. McCarthy for the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing the extradition of Mousaei from the United Kingdom.

This prosecution is being coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states. Under the leadership of the Assistant Attorney General for National Security and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, the Strike Force leverages tools and authorities across the U.S. Government to enhance the criminal and administrative enforcement of export control laws.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR FATALLY SHOOTING A MAN WALKING WITH HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER

 

Victim Was Walking Hand-In-Hand with Six-Year-Old Girl; Murder Was Part of a Cycle of Retaliatory Shootings 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for second-degree Murder in the drive-by shooting of a man walking with his young daughter in the summer of 2020. 

District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant, who was seeking retaliation for a prior shooting, drove up to the victim in a car with several accomplices in broad daylight and opened fire. A father is dead and his six-year-old-daughter, who was just inches away from receiving the same fate, lives with the trauma. The defendant has been held accountable and will spend many years in prison.” 

District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Davon Delks, 25 of East 171st Street was sentenced today by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy to 25 years to life in prison. The defendant was found guilty by a jury on March 26, 2024, of second-degree Murder.

According to the facts presented at trial, on July 5, 2020, Delks and several accomplices were in a car following Anthony Robinson, 29, as he walked with his six-year-old daughter on East 170th Street near Sheridan Avenue, to avenge a shooting from the day before that involved Robinson’s brother. Delks fired a gun from the car, striking and killing Robinson.

District Attorney Clark thanked Detective Patrick Sullivan of the Bronx Homicide Squad, Detective Vincent Figueroa of the 44th Precinct, staff of the Video Unit of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the professional staff members of the Homicide Bureau.