Bronx man indicted for shooting murder in long island city — Long Island City, USA - September 23, 2019: Piers and building in Long Island City

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Darrius Saunders, 28, has been indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned in Supreme Court for murder and other crimes for the shooting death of a 33-year-old Queens man on May 10, 2021, in Long Island City, Queens, near the Queensbridge Houses.

District Attorney Katz said, “As alleged, this defendant showed callous disregard for human life by walking up to a vehicle with a gun in his hand and murdering the victim. We will not allow the streets of our borough to be used as shooting galleries. The defendant now faces serious charges for his alleged actions and my Office continues to work to get illegal weapons off our streets.”

Saunders, of Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, was arraigned today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder on a five-count indictment charging him with murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degree and menacing in the second degree. Justice Holder set a return date for September 9, 2021. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison.

According to the charges, at approximately 12:01 a.m. on May 10, 2021, the defendant, who was seen on video surveillance, along with an unapprehended other, approached the victim, Kayron Wilson. The 33-year-old victim was seated in the front passenger seat of a vehicle parked on 12^th Street and 40^th Avenue in Long Island City. The unapprehended other and the defendant allegedly began shooting at the victim striking him three times in the chest. Mr. Wilson was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Daniel Spies of the 114^th Detective Squad and Detectives Andrew Alloro and Lizabeth Klein from the Queens Homicide Squad.

Assistant District Attorney Franchesca Basso, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Bryan Kotowski under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys, Peter McCormack III, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, John Kosinski and Karen Ross, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.

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