Shawn Peace
File Photo
It was another banner year for criminal justice in Queens, according to county District Attorney Richard Brown.
Queens was again among the city’s leaders in crime reduction in 2014. The downward turn was marked by a nearly 3 percent decline in serious crime from the previous year, including an 18 percent drop in robberies and an 8.5 percent drop in burglaries.
Brown, who just completed his 23rd year as the borough’s chief law-enforcement official, added that over the past two decades, overall crime in Queens is down by 79 percent; and murders—“a stalwart benchmark for both prosecutors and police”—have dropped precipitously 77 percent. Since 1992, robberies and burglaries are both down 81 percent, and felony assaults have fallen nearly 41 percent.
Jason Bohn
File Photo
In 2014, the DA’s Office handled more than 77,000 arrest cases. Brown highlighted several successful prosecutions over the past 12 months, including that of Jason Bohn, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for strangling and beating to death his former girlfriend inside of their Astoria apartment; Neil Perreira was sentenced in April to 54 years to life in prison for the attempted murder of a NYPD sergeant and the assault on two other officers when they responded to a call concerning an emotionally disturbed man armed with a knife; Shawn Peace was sentenced to 110 years in prison for a series of violent felonies—including the attempted murder of a livery cab driver and the shooting of a fast food employee—during a string of armed robberies committed over a six-month period; Shane Jaggarnauth, who was convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting his parents while they slept in their bed, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; Kerbet Dixon, a state court officer, was sentenced to up to 32⅓ years in prison for sexually abusing two young family members, then ages 10 and 14, in his borough residence in separate incidents, and for possessing and promoting child pornography; and Keyan Price was sentenced to up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the recruiting and prostituting of two female teenagers throughout the city during a nine-month period.
“I am optimistic that by continuing the very successful strategies that we have employed over the years we, together with our law enforcement colleagues, can make Queens County even safer in 2015,” Brown said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
