NEW YORK, NY – A Queens man has been charged for beating his elderly neighbor to death with a metal rod today.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Yomar Gonzalez, 38, has been indicted by a grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on murder and other charges for allegedly beating his 71-year-old neighbor to death with a metal rod on March 17, 2021.
District Attorney Katz said, “This was a senseless act of violence against an innocent septuagenarian in his own home. The defendant is in custody and facing serious charges.”
Gonzalez, of 138th Street in Jamaica, Queens, was arraigned this afternoon before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant on a four-count indictment charging him with two counts of murder in the second degree, burglary in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Justice Pandit-Durant remanded the defendant and ordered him to return to Court on April 26, 2021. If convicted, Gonzalez faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison.
District Attorney Katz said, around 11 p.m. on March 17, 2021, Gonzalez left his own apartment and allegedly forced his way inside the apartment of James Glover on the floor below by kicking in the door. The defendant is accused of striking the victim multiple times with a metal rod, killing him. Around 1:30 a.m. on March 18, 2021, the defendant returned to the victim’s apartment where he called 911. The defendant was present in Mr. Glover’s home when first responders arrived.
The investigation was conducted by the New York Police Department’s 103rd Precinct Detective Squad.