By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rahmel Tedder has been indicted for allegedly beating a man to death last month with a chair.
Tedder, 30, of Jamaica, was arraigned on Tuesday on charges of murder in the second degree, assault in the second degree, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
According to the indictment and charges:
Video surveillance footage allegedly shows Tedder on July 26, at approximately 4:15 a.m., approach 39-year-old Michael Tobon, in front of 90-25 175th Street. Tedder allegedly picked up a chair and then hit Tobon on the head with the chair several times while he lay prone on the ground.
Tedder then allegedly covered the victim’s body with a cloth and ran from the scene. The defendant put the chair used in the deadly attack among garbage bags some distance away on 175th Street. He eventually returned before police arrived.
Police responding to the scene of the incident discovered Tobon unconscious and severely injured on the sidewalk. He was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent surgery for traumatic brain injury and skull fracture. He did not regain brain function and died.
Tedder was arrested shortly after the incident at the intersection of 175th Street and 90th Avenue.
If convicted, Tedder faces a maximum potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison.