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The transgender woman was threatened in an incident that occurred on 162nd Street in Jamaica.
By Forum Staff
A Jamaica man has been sentenced to five years in prison for pointing an illegal firearm at a transgender woman in September 2021, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday.
Quame Truitt, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this month to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Frances Wang. On Monday, Wang sentenced Truitt as a violent predicate felon to five years in prison, to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
According to the court records, on Sept. 5, 2021, the woman was walking along 162nd Street in Jamaica just after 6 p.m. when she encountered Truitt. When the two were near one another, Truitt reached toward his waist and told the victim, “You don’t belong here.”
Truitt then pulled a pistol from a bag and pointed it at the victim. The woman got away from the defendant and found a police officer in a nearby patrol car and alerted him of what had happened. She also provided the police officer with a description of the man who pointed a gun at her. Truitt was apprehended a short time later and police recovered the firearm in an area trash can.
“The defendant threatened a transgender woman just because she is a transgender woman. The diversity of Queens County is our greatest strength and we will not tolerate acts of violence based on someone’s race, gender or appearance,” Katz said.
