Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia/Hleong
On April 23, Albano approached Leroy Williams, 57, on the platform of the Grand Avenue-Newtown subway station around 3:30 a.m. and allegedly stabbed him once in the chest. Williams died as a result of the injury.
By Forum Staff
An Elmhurst man has been charged in three separate stabbing incidents, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz recently announced.
Mark Albano, 34, allegedly killed a man at the Grand Avenue-Newtown subway station on April 23, and was apprehended on Saturday, May 8, following two knife attacks within hours of each other in Elmhurst.
Albano has been arraigned on three separate criminal complaints. Regarding the April 23 incident, Albano is charged with murder in the second degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon. In the May 7 incident, the defendant is charged with attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. In the May 8 incident, Albano is charged with attempted assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
Katz said that, on April 23, the defendant approached Leroy Williams, 57, on the platform of the Grand Avenue-Newtown subway station around 3:30 a.m. and allegedly stabbed him once in the chest. Williams died as a result of the injury.
According to the charges, around 8 p.m. on Friday, May 7, at 51st Avenue near 90th Street, Albano approached a man from behind and allegedly stabbed him multiple times in the upper back area. The victim, who is 31-years-old, collapsed to the ground in pain. But he was able to see Albano running past him carrying a gray bag.
The victim in this case was rushed to an area hospital. He sustained partial paralysis as a result of the stabbing.
On May 8, at approximately 5:15 a.m., as outlined in the complaint, the defendant was inside the basement of a building on Van Loon Street when he confronted another man. Albano allegedly took out a knife and stabbed the 40-year-old victim. The man sustained wounds to his arm and armpit. When police arrived on the scene, the victim was lying in a pool of blood.
The victim of the Saturday stabbing was also taken to a nearby hospital where he received stitches and staples to close the open wounds.
Police apprehended Albano several blocks away from the scene of the Saturday stabbing carrying a bag, which allegedly contained a knife.
“A brutal, unprovoked killing in a subway station stokes dread throughout the entire city. The successful re-opening of our borough and our city depends on New Yorkers being safe and feeling safe, on our streets and in our subways. This defendant’s alleged, senseless attacks resulted in one man being killed and another partially paralyzed,” Katz said. “My Office is committed to holding accountable those who would hold the city hostage to fear with acts of violence.”
If convicted on all three cases, Albano faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison for the April 23 homicide, up to 25 years for the May 7 stabbing, and up to 15 years in prison for the May 8 incident.
