Two men from south Queens were arrested and charged with murder on July 16 in the fatal beating and robbery of a Richmond Hill man, ending a crime spree by the suspects that began in early June, the district attorney’s office said.
Nestor Rodriguez, 20, of Woodhaven, and Carlos Genno, 22, of Ozone Park, allegedly attacked Nazmul Islam, 55, a leader of the U.S chapter of the Bangladeshi ruling party, in Richmond Hill on July 9, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. The spat began near the intersection of 76th Street and Atlantic Avenue, where the pair allegedly punched and choked Islam before rifling through his pockets for cash and leaving his body on the sidewalk in the early morning hours, Brown said.
Police were called to the street corner just after 4:30 a.m., where paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
The two men are being held without bail and their next court date is July 31, according to Brown’s office.
“With a murder charge, they’re being held without bail – it takes precedence,” a DA spokesman said.
In a statement, Brown said Genno and Rodriguez’s alleged actions show a complete disregard for human life and now face the repercussions of their actions; spending the rest of their lives in prison.
“These two men are accused of pummeling and choking a 55-year-old man they were robbing, causing his death,” Brown said. “In two other incidents, one of the defendants is charged with having sex with an underage girl and participating in an assault on a teenage boy.”
Genno and Rodriguez could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison if convicted, Brown said. When they were arrested last week, police charged them with additional crimes they are suspected of committing over the past month.
Days after Islam’s death, Genno and Rodriguez were allegedly seen walking in the middle of the street at the intersection of 130th Street and 90th Avenue, where they caused a vehicle to swerve around them at 2:45 a.m. on July 13. When an officer approached them, the pair admitted they had “molly” on them, the slang term for the active ingredient in the drug ecstasy, Brown said.
Police said they recovered two rocks of “molly” from Rodriguez’s front pocket and one rock of the substance from Genno’s front pocket.
Genno was additionally charged with attacking a 17-year-old boy from Richmond Hill on June 10 with another man, Abrar Hussain, Brown said. Cops also said the boy had to have his head stapled and stitched at Queens Hospital after Hussain hit him in the head with a hammer while Genno punched him.
He was also charged with the statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl inside a South Richmond Hill apartment on June 28, Brown said.
Ryan said Genno was facing an additional seven years for the hammer assault and Rodriguez is facing an extra year for possession of “molly” on top of their murder charges. If he is found guilty on all charges, Genno could be facing a minimum of 37 years in prison while Rodriguez is facing a minimum of 26, the DA said.
“The judge can put the charges together consecutively and add them all up,” Brown’s office said.
By Ashley Helms
