QUEENS, NY — In a recent judicial decision, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the sentencing of Tyrell Dennis to a term of 25 years to life for the murder of a 35-year-old man in Far Rockaway. The incident, which took place in August 2020, involved Dennis fatally shooting the victim at point-blank range within an apartment building.
Dennis, a 34-year-old resident of Redfern Avenue in Far Rockaway, was found guilty in June of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and second-degree menacing. He was sentenced by Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise. The conviction is part of the district attorney’s ongoing efforts to combat gun violence and remove illegal weapons from the community.
The prosecution’s case included video surveillance footage that captured Dennis entering the apartment building at 22-27 Dix Avenue and menacing a woman in the mailroom with a gun before inquiring about the whereabouts of certain individuals. He then confronted Eric Thomas on the first floor of the building, shooting him once in the chest before fleeing the scene. Thomas was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Dennis’s arrest occurred in Pennsylvania in November 2020 on unrelated charges, leading to his extradition to New York to face the murder charge in Queens.