Matthew Devlin, 50, pleaded guilty in April to first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision.

Devlin admitted that he had argued with his mother and brother on the evening of Feb. 12, 2011, Brown said. Following the disagreement, Devlin used an aluminum baseball bat and struck 79-year-old Betty Ann Devlin in the head several times. She was later found in her second-floor bedroom with extensive head injuries, taken to an area hospital in critical condition and placed in a medically-induced coma. Betty Ann died five days later.

Devlin’s brother, John, then 54, was also attacked with the bat and suffered a head wound, which required 35 staples to close.

Brown called it a “senseless and horrifying act,” adding that Devlin “has proven that he is unfit to live in a civilized society.”

Matthew Devlin, 49, last Friday pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who set sentencing for June 4, and indicated that he would hand down a term of 21 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision.

In pleading guilty, Devlin admitted to having an argument with his mother and brother on the evening of Feb. 12, 2011, and hitting his mother in the head with an aluminum bat. When police arrived at the residence in response to a call of an assault, they found the victim, 79-year-old Elizabeth “Betty Ann” Devlin, in a second-floor bedroom with extensive head injuries.  She was transported to an area hospital in critical condition and placed in a medically induced coma. She died five days later on Feb. 17, 2011.

Devlin’s brother, John Devlin, then 54, also suffered a head wound in the attack which required 35 staples to close.

“This was a senseless family tragedy that ended with a mother dead and her son guilty of taking her life,” Brown said. “By his actions, the defendant has proven himself unfit for society. While he will have to live with what he did for the rest of his life, the sentence to be imposed is more than warranted.”

Luis Jessup, 37, was arraigned last Thursday night and charged with first-degree rape, second-degree criminal sexual act, second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Jessup is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and his next court date is March 20.

According to the criminal complaint, Jessup walked into the Northern Boulevard business shortly after 7 a.m. on Feb. 21 and allegedly displayed a gun to the 42-year-old female worker. He then allegedly removed the woman’s pants, forced her to lie down on a massage table and sexually assaulted her.

“The allegations in this case are very disturbing,” Brown said. “The defendant is accused of entering the business, displaying what appeared to be a firearm and forcing various sex acts on the victim. The defendant is now facing a lengthy prison term.”

If convicted, Jessup faces up to 25 years in prison.

Vincente Barzola, 39, of East New York, was arraigned last Thursday on first- and second-degree burglary, first- and second-degree robbery and second-degree assault charges.

According to the complaint, Barzola, along with previously apprehended co-defendant Christopher Ramirez, 24, rang the doorbell of John and Sofia Dima on the afternoon of April 23. Sofia Dima, then 85, answered the door and the defendants allegedly told her they were from the co-op’s maintenance department and needed her signature on a form. When she unlocked the door, the pair allegedly stormed in.

Brown said that Barzola allegedly punched Sofia Dima in the face, knocked her to the floor and pushed his foot into her chest. The elderly woman was then allegedly choked by Barzola until she lost consciousness. When she awoke, her home had been ransacked and her chest was covered in blood. Although her hands were tied with plastic ties, Sofia somehow managed to get up and alert a neighbor, who called police.

The complaint also alleges that Ramirez went upstairs and found John Dima, then 87, asleep in his bed. He was yanked to the floor and struck with a closed fist on his back and head, as well as having his hands bound with plastic ties and his face pepper sprayed.

Barzola and Ramirez then allegedly removed a safe that contained more than $15,000 in cash from the residence, along with both gold and diamond jewelry. The Dimas were both taken to an area hospital with serious injuries and spent five days there, including time in intensive care. Sofia suffered numerous facial fractures, bruising and tenderness to her neck, and John now requires the use of a cane to walk as a result of the injuries he suffered in the attack.

Ramirez, of Corona, was arraigned on June 26, 2014, on similar burglary, robbery and assault charges as Barzola. Since being arraigned, Ramirez has been held on Rikers Island in lieu of $100,000 bond/$75,000 cash bail. Barzola and Ramirez each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Their next court date is Jan. 30.

The baby’s mother, a radiologist, left the infant under the care of Singh when she left for work at approximately 8:30 pm on Dec. 19.  When she returned home around 6:15 am after completing her shift at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, she went to bed without checking on the baby.

Singh told investigators that his son woke up at approximately 7:00 am and appeared normal.  He claimed that he prepared a bottle, and thirty minutes later, found the infant covered in feces.  Singh took him to the shower and afterward, says Singh, the baby fell off the changing table, which was approximately four feet high.  Around 8 am, Singh observed the baby to be unresponsive and having difficulty breathing, so he woke up his wife and called 911.

The baby was taken to Flushing Hospital Medical Center and later transferred to Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where an examination revealed that the baby had suffered multiple severe skull fractures, widespread brain injury resulting from lack of oxygen, and retinal hemorrhages.  Medical personnel found the baby’s injuries inconsistent with a short fall from a changing table but rather consistent with the non-accidental abusive head trauma. Further, based on the nature and severity of the injuries, it was determined that the baby’s symptoms of unresponsiveness and difficulty breathing would have occurred immediately after the infliction of the injuries.

Singh’s bail was set at $200,000, and his next court date is Dec. 31.  If convicted on the current charges, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Approximately 9% of city deaths in children under 14 years of age are due to assault, according to New York city and state criminal justice statistics. Last year, Queens County reported 977 cases of domestic violence whereby victims were classified as “other family victims,” i.e. outside the “intimate male/female partnership.”

By Eugénie Bisulco

City Council Veterans Committee Chairman Eric Ulrich last week called all military service public service.
Photo By Michael V. Cusenza

Members of the City Council Veterans Committee last week sent a letter the leadership in the state Legislature urging it to override Gov. Cuomo’s veto of the New York State Military Buy-Back Reform Bill in the event of a special session.

Led by Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), chairman of the Veterans Committee, members Paul Vallone (D-Bayside), Fernando Cabrera (D-Bronx), Alan Maisel (D-Brooklyn) and Andrew Cohen (D-Bronx) also signed the missive that was sent to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).

The bill would afford all honorably discharged veterans the opportunity to purchase and apply up to three years credit toward New York’s public retirement system for military service. Current law only permits those who served in designated conflicts this benefit and unfairly penalizes Cold War veterans and women veterans who are historical excluded from assuming combat roles.
The Assembly and State Senate passed the bill last session by near unanimous consent and the City Council adopted a resolution in support of the legislation earlier this year. Cuomo vetoed the item on Nov. 7^th, 2014 at the urging of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“All military service is public service and it should be acknowledged as exactly that,” Ulrich said. “Those who have served our country honorably, regardless of time or era, should be entitled to the same benefits. The State Legislature has already voted to approve this bill by an overwhelming margin. They should affirm their support for our vets by overriding the governor’s veto.”

In vetoing the item, Cuomo said that “The costs of this proposal would fall not only on those individuals but would land, without any State funding, upon every locality and taxpayer in the State in which they claim credit…”

By Forum Staff

In order to renovate one of its science research and teaching laboratory, Queens College was awarded a $2 million grant on July 18 for the renovations. State Senator Tony Avella (D-Bayside) allocated the funds for the university towards the end of a recent legislative session and presented them to Queens College Interim President Evangelos Gizis. Photo courtesy Tony Avella’s office

A Queens College science research and teaching laboratory will soon receive what many consider to be a much-needed facelift after state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) provided $2 million to the school.

The classroom in need of renovations was originally built as a teaching laboratory for physical chemistry in 1949 and was changed into a student research laboratory in 2010. The switch only facilitated the building of new floors, leaving the original tabletops, gas, vacuum and water supply lines and wooden benches in desperate need of an upgrade.

Moveable benches will replace the original wooden benches so the layout of the laboratory can be changed depending on the needs of each research project, the school said. Reconstruction of the classroom’s storage units and electrical service will be made modern as well.

Avella said that it is unfortunately clear that the older research laboratory needs to be upgraded, but he was still proud to announce the $2 million grant obtained towards the end of the legislative session.

“Education is key to the future of our children and we, as legislators, need to ensure that every college, especially within the City University of New York, has the best resources to provide our children with the best possible education,” Avella said.

From start to finish, the project is expected to take two years, according to Robert Engel, interim dean for the division of mathematics and sciences.

“Professor [Michael] Mirkin will move his efforts into the space that he has previously occupied, scattered about, for a short time while the actual construction occurs,” Engel said.

Since there is a research laboratory in the basement of the older lab, there will not be any displacement of teaching space while construction is being done, the dean said.

Attendees met on July 18 at Queens College to discuss the plans and compare the older laboratory with one of the two newly built teaching laboratories. One of the new facilities can hold 24 students, with two spots reserved for the disabled. Another research laboratory used by undergraduates, graduates and faculty for scientific research was also recently renovated.

The two newer laboratories were finished in 2001 and 2004 respectively, and were needed for biochemical research and organic chemistry. The space for biochemical research, like the study of breast cancer, is the first ever to be constructed at Queens College, according to Engel. The professor did not have a place to conduct her biochemical work before it was finished.

“We are now getting to other things that are critical for moving ahead,” he said, in reference to the upgrades planned

President Evangelos Gizis said the facilities are where hundreds of thousands of students obtain an education in chemistry and biology and commended Avella for securing state funding for the renovations.

“There is a rule that every 25 years you should renovate each laboratory. And even though we try to renovate as often as we can and control the noise and dust caused by the construction, we cannot always control the resources needed to make the renovations,” Gizis said.

By Ashley Helms