By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday that Shahab Usman has been charged with rape, assault and robbery for a crime spree targeting spas in South Richmond Hill that left a patron paralyzed from a gunshot wound.
Usman, 40, of South Ozone Park, was arraigned last week on two separate complaints charging him with three counts of robbery in the first degree, five counts of robbery in the second degree, assault in the first degree, rape in the first degree, attempted rape in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, attempted sexual abuse in the first degree and menacing in the second degree.
File Photo
DA Katz called Usman “the man we believe to be the violent predator responsible for a string of robberies, assaults and sex crimes.”
According to the charges:
On Dec. 2, Usman entered a spa on Liberty Avenue, displayed a firearm, beat an employee, and stole cash and personal property.
On Dec. 4, Usman entered a spa on Jamaica Avenue where he raped an employee at gunpoint. He then brandished the gun and stole cash from her and other employees before fleeing.
Later that same day, Usman entered another spa on Jamaica Avenue where he held a gun to an employee while attempting to rape her. During the attack, he discharged his gun and the bullet struck a patron in another room. The patron sustained a gunshot wound and is paralyzed from the waist down.
“We will be prosecuting the man we believe to be the violent predator responsible for a string of robberies, assaults and sex crimes,” Katz said. “The NYPD’s investigation of these crimes fortunately led to the defendant’s arrest and we can now work to hold him accountable in court.”
If convicted, Usman faces 25 years in prison on multiple counts.
