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Fraley has been sentenced to 25 years in prison to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Friday that James Fraley has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder and drug and weapons possession charges in the 2021 shooting of a deli owner in Briarwood and the subsequent discovery of a large quantity of heroin in his home.
Fraley was on lifetime parole for a 1989 murder conviction.
Fraley, 73, of St. Albans, was convicted last month by a jury of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. Queens Supreme Court Justice Gary Miret imposed Friday’s determinate sentence of 25 years in prison to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
According to the charges and trial testimony:
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James Fraley shot the owner of Rojas Deli in Briarwood in August 2021.
On Aug. 12, 2021, at approximately 2 p.m., Fraley entered the Rojas Deli on Hillside Avenue, ordered a sandwich and then shot the owner, Rufino Rojas-Flores, in the chest. He then turned the gun on the owner’s daughter, who was working behind the counter, and demanded the money in the register.
The daughter gave him between $100 and $200 cash and Fraley fled. A deli worker chased him on Hillside Avenue toward the Parsons Boulevard subway stop.
Surveillance video footage showed the worker running after an older man and also captured Fraley in the subway stop. The NYPD created a wanted poster from the video.
On Aug. 17, an officer recognized Fraley from the wanted poster as he got into a car. The officer pulled Fraley over for a traffic violation and arrested him.
When detectives went to Fraley’s home, they found a.357-caliber revolver, a.380-caliber semi-automatic pistol loaded with six rounds of ammunition, and a safe containing more than 12 ounces of heroin. Drug paraphernalia, including hundreds of glassine envelopes, were also discovered in the home.
Rojas-Flores was treated at the hospital for injuries to his liver from the gunshot wound.
“A violent predator very nearly shot a small business owner to death for less than $200, and the guns and drugs found in his home pointed to more bloodshed and devastation ahead,” Katz said. “The debt he will have to pay to society is a long prison sentence.”
