By Michael V. Cusenza
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Monday that more than 40 illegal motorized scooters were recently seized as part of a joint operation between her office and local police precincts in response to the vehicles’ increased involvement in crimes, including drive-by shootings, and traffic collisions. The scooters were seized from locations along Roosevelt Avenue and in Long Island City.
A total of 43 scooters were seized for being illegally parked on sidewalks along busy commercial strips with high pedestrian traffic. Detectives from the district attorney’s office, working with officers from the NYPD’s 110th, 114th, and 115th precincts, searched 10 locations in Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Corona, and Long Island City. Of the 43 scooters confiscated, nearly all were unregistered.
“The often careless and dangerous operation of motorized scooters on our roads, and even our sidewalks, has become an urgent concern. Their use to commit violent crimes and escape will not be tolerated and requires immediate action,” Katz said. “We are partnering with the NYPD to do proactive enforcement to make our streets and communities safer for law-abiding New Yorkers.”
Additional operations are planned in Queens as part of an effort to get illegal unregistered motorized scooters off the road.
“This latest operation in the NYPD’s citywide efforts to curb the illegal use of motorized scooters has undoubtedly made the people of Queens safer,” City Police Commissioner Edward Caban said. “New Yorkers see it every day: People putting others at risk by recklessly operating unregistered scooters, speeding through red lights, and riding on sidewalks. In addition to blatant traffic violations, some riders commit shootings, robberies, and other violent acts. With the help of our law enforcement partners, the NYPD is committed to ending these acts of lawlessness that diminish quality of life and threaten public safety.”
The use of an illegal scooter to commit a crime garnered headlines last year when a Brooklyn man was charged in a 14-count indictment after allegedly randomly firing from a motorbike at pedestrians and a fellow motorist during a shooting spree in Queens that left an 86-year-old man dead and two others wounded.
According to the charges, On July 8, 2023, at approximately 11:26 a.m., Abreu was seen on video surveillance cameras and by an eyewitness on 108th Street and Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill riding a scooter and wearing a green shirt and with a fanny pack on his shoulder. He approached Hamod Saeidi, 86, and shot him in the back. Saeidi was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
At approximately the same time and at the same location, Abreu, still riding a scooter, fired at two pedestrians, one walking a dog on the sidewalk and at another crossing the street. Neither was struck. Moments later, video surveillance showed Abreu on 126th Street and Hillside Avenue. He pulled up his scooter next to a parked minivan and shot the driver at close range once in the head. The victim was taken to a hospital and survived.
Abreu was observed on video surveillance riding his scooter on 134th Street and Jamaica Avenue. He approached a pedestrian crossing the street and shot the victim in the shoulder. The victim was treated at a local hospital and released.
At approximately 1 p.m., Abreu was arrested after NYPD officers saw him at Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue riding his scooter. Police recovered a loaded pistol with an extended magazine, as well as a fanny pack containing additional ammunition.
