Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Hector Crespo, 26, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court on murder charges and other crimes for allegedly shooting a young man on the street on September 3, 2020, in Long Island City, Queens.
District Attorney Katz said, “This was a senseless shooting after a brief, petty dispute. The victim was gunned down in broad daylight. Easy access to illegal firearms continues to cause heartache and pain and must be stopped. After approximately a year on the run, the alleged shooter is in custody and charged with very serious crimes.”
Crespo, of Walden Avenue in the Bronx, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Justice Pandit-Durant ordered the defendant to return on December 21, 2021. If convicted, Crespo faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison.
According to the charges, at approximately 6:45 p.m. on September 3, 2020, Vickram Sewsankar and another individual were at the corner of Second Avenue and 50th Street in Long Island City when a gray BMW with the defendant Crespo and another individual inside stopped at a corner. Crespo exited the vehicle and began fighting with the 25-year-old victim. Moments later, defendant Crespo allegedly pulled out a firearm and shot Mr. Sewsankar once in the torso. He then got back into the BMW and the driver of the vehicle drove them away from the scene.
DA Katz said, Mr. Sewsankar was found on the corner of Borden Avenue and Second Street bleeding. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from a single gunshot to his abdomen.
The investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Grimm of the 108th Precinct Detective Squad.