Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
“This case is a stark reminder of the intersection between violent crime and ‘white-collar’ offenses; both of which take a devastating toll on our communities,” DA Katz said.
By Forum Staff
A Laurelton man has been indicted by a borough grand jury for allegedly stealing a car, and while attempting to avoid arrest, slamming into a police vehicle—flipping the car over and injuring the officers inside, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday.
David Griffiths, 24, was arraigned Thursday on a 173-count indictment charging him with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, assault in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the second and fourth degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first and second degree and criminal possession of forgery devices. Griffiths was ordered to return to court on Oct. 27.
According to the charges, at approximately 8:40 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2021, at 223rd Street, police officers observed Griffiths get into and drive off in a blue Mercedes Benz GLE 43 AMG that was allegedly obtained using a stolen identity. Officers attempted to pull the defendant over, leading to Griffiths taking evasive action, driving onto a sidewalk and then ramming a police vehicle, flipping it onto its roof. Two of the officers inside of the car were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Photo Courtesy of Google
At 119th Avenue and 236th Street, Griffiths allegedly jumped out of the car and attempted to flee the scene on foot, discarding evidence as he ran from police.
At 119th Avenue and 236th Street, Griffiths allegedly jumped out of the car and attempted to flee the scene on foot, discarding evidence as he ran from police. Included in the items allegedly discarded by Griffiths were a loaded purple Taurus 9mm pistol, counterfeit currency, forged State identifications, some of which included a photograph of the defendant but with a different name and stolen and forged credit cards.
Griffiths was apprehended near the Cross Island Parkway, about a block away from where he abandoned the Mercedes.
A search of the Mercedes allegedly driven by Griffiths lead to the discovery of 81 stolen checks from various banks with various names. These checks totaled more than $411,000. There were also 26 stolen credit cards recovered, along with seven additional state identification cards containing the defendant’s photo but with different names and addresses, and over $18,000 in cash – $10,600 of which was counterfeit. Also recovered from inside the vehicle were items indicating the defendant was operating a forgery operation, as he was in possession of reams of check stock paper, a color printer and high-quality ink.
The investigation by police did not stop at the point of arrest. Police executed a Court-authorized search warrant for a storage facility unit allegedly owned by Griffiths. Cops allegedly recovered an additional cache of stolen credit cards, mail phishing tools, forged identifications, and a “check washing” station with chemicals used for altering information contained on stolen checks.
“This case is a stark reminder of the intersection between violent crime and ‘white-collar’ offenses; both of which take a devastating toll on our communities,” Katz said.
If convicted, Griffiths faces up to 15 years in prison.
