NEW YORK, NY – A drug deal went wrong and turned deadly when Joseph Barahona, 19, along with two others, tried to steal marijuana from an 18-year-old man by holding him at gunpoint in February. The plan went awry and the 18-year-old was killed. Now he is facing chargers for murder and attempted robbery.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said, “As alleged, the defendant participated in a scheme to steal thousands of dollars’ worth of marijuana. The armed heist delved into chaos when a gun was fired and the victim, who was being held at gunpoint, was killed. Now a young man is being mourned by his family and this defendant faces very serious charges for his alleged actions.”
According to a report by the Queens District Attorney’s Office, Barahona, of 35th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, was arraigned today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder on a six-count indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, burglary in the first degree and attempted robbery in the first degree. Justice Holder set the defendant’s return date for March 29, 2022. If convicted, Barahona faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
According to the charges, on February 10, 2022, just before 7 p.m., Barahona went to an apartment in East Elmhurst, Queens, in an alleged attempt to buy marijuana.
“The defendant was escorted inside by Gregory Campos. After settling on a price, the defendant left the apartment with a sample of the marijuana to allegedly show his friends who were outside,” D.A. Katz said in a statement. “Campos escorted the defendant back outside and held the apartment building’s door open for Barahona to come back in to make the buy. Immediately, however, two masked men appeared at the building entrance with Barahona. Campos had a gun shoved into his back and was forced upstairs by the masked men and Barahona toward the apartment they had just come from moments earlier.”
DA Katz said, at the apartment door someone inside saw the attempted robbery unfolding in the stairwell, quickly slammed the door shut and yelled “get the strap.” Seconds later, a pistol was fired from inside the apartment and through the wall adjacent to the stairwell where the 18-year-old Campos was being held at gunpoint. The bullet hit the teenager in the torso, causing his death.