By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday that a Richmond Hill man has been convicted of attempted murder for picking up a 6-year-old boy and slamming him into the pavement head first.
Laurence Gendreau, 39, was convicted by a jury last Wednesday of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, grand larceny in the fourth degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree. The Hon. Ira Margulis set sentencing for Oct. 12.
According to the charges and trial testimony:
On Oct. 10, 2019, at approximately 4:45 p.m., a 6-year-old boy was standing outside his grandparents’ Kew Gardens home along with his older brother waiting for a pizza delivery. Gendreau, who was walking by, suddenly charged at the child, yelling at him. He lifted the boy over his head and slammed him down onto the pavement.
Photo Courtesy of iPhone Wiki/DanTheMann15
On the same day as the assault, Gendreau swiped an iPad from an elderly woman.
As the child was motionless on the ground, Gendreau fled. The boy’s brother ran inside and alerted his family. His grandfather chased after Gendreau and flagged down a police officer. Gendreau was stopped near Lefferts Boulevard and Metropolitan Avenue.
The boy was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and a collapsed lung. He has since recovered.
Earlier that same day, at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Union Turnpike in Kew Gardens, Gendreau approached an 83-year-old woman, sat next to her and then grabbed an iPad from her hands. The stolen iPad was recovered from Gendreau at the time of his arrest following the attack on the boy.
“This senseless and brutal attack left a young boy seriously injured and a community shocked. We all deserve to feel safe in our homes and while walking the streets of our neighborhoods. The criminal justice system worked and we were able to take a dangerous man off the street,” Katz said.
Gendreau faces up to 25 years in prison.
