NEW YORK – A suspect on trial for a murder in Far Rockaway is going to prison for life.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Joaquin Bullock was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of a Far Rockaway resident. As a result of an argument with the victim, the defendant fatally shot him in the chest in 2018.
District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant ended a physical altercation with deadly retribution. A jury convicted him for his actions and today a judge determined his fate. We will continue to fight the plague of gun violence, on the streets and in the courts, with all our might and resources.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder sentenced Bullock, 35, of Chandler Street in Far Rockway, Queens, today. In November, Bullock was convicted of murder in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree after a two-week trial.
On Saturday, August 18, 2018, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Bullock was captured on video surveillance arguing and fighting with several males near Beach 25 Street and Brookhaven Avenue, including the victim, 28-year-old Dion Smith. 30 minutes after the initial altercation, the defendant returned to the scene, grabbed the victim by the arm, and forcibly removed him to a dark alley on Brookhaven Avenue. After shooting the victim once in the chest, Bullock fatally wounded him.