By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Monday that Matthew Lloyd has been charged with allegedly clubbing two men with a metal baseball bat he wielded while riding a skateboard on Saturday in Astoria.
Lloyd, 36, an Astoria resident, was arraigned on charges of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degrees, attempted assault in the first and second degrees and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
According to the charges:
On Saturday, Aug. 19, at approximately 6:10 p.m., Lloyd, riding a skateboard, approached Jamal Bermudez from behind near the intersection of 19th Street and Ditmars Boulevard and struck him on the back of the head with a metal baseball bat. The victim, 46, fell, struck his head on the pavement and lost consciousness. The By Forum Staff
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia/MTA
While we cannot take away the trauma caused by his acts, I hope the prison sentence provides a measure of closure to the young victim, who bravely stepped forward to tell us about the horrors she was forced to endure,” DA Katz said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Monday that Julio Fernando Pina-Illescas has been sentenced to 17.5 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting a child relative over the course of 10 years, beginning when the girl was 4 years old.
Pina-Illescas, 39, of Corona, was convicted last month by a jury on charges of predatory sexual assault of a child and endangering the welfare of a child, leading Supreme Court Justice David J. Kirschner to sentence him to 17.5 years to life in prison, to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision. Pina-Illescas will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to the charges and trial testimony:
Between approximately August 2009 and October 2019, beginning when the victim was 4, Pina-Illescas sexually molested and raped the victim on numerous occasions. The abuse occurred inside Pina-Illescas’ two places of residence in Corona.
In a separate case, Pina-Illescas was indicted in 2020 on two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child for abusing another child relative and other young girl. The case is pending.
“This defendant, now a convicted sexual predator, used his access and authority to prey on an innocent child. While we cannot take away the trauma caused by his acts, I hope the prison sentence provides a measure of closure to the young victim, who bravely stepped forward to tell us about the horrors she was forced to endure,” Katz said. “My office will pursue full accountability in the separate indictment against the defendant.” fled on his skateboard. Bermudez suffered injuries including bleeding, swelling and lacerations.
Within minutes of the attack on Bermudez, at approximately 6:21 pm, Lloyd, still riding a skateboard, approached 79-year-old Massalis Hristos near 20-17 19th St. and struck him on the head with the metal baseball bat, knocking him to the ground. While the victim was on the ground, Lloyd repeatedly struck him in the head and face with the bat, causing fractures to his skull, eye socket and face. The victim underwent surgery in an effort to save his eye and remains hospitalized.
Lloyd was arrested a short distance away less than an hour after the second attack in possession of a skateboard and a metal bat.
“The randomness of the attacks is as frightening as their brutality. As a city, we cannot concede our neighborhoods to those who would randomly attack,” Katz said. “The defendant will be held to account for his alleged actions.”
If convicted of attempted murder, Lloyd faces up to 25 years in prison.
