QUEENS, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that four individuals have been arraigned on charges of attempted gang assault and related offenses after attacking two NYPD officers. The officers were checking on the welfare of three unattended children on bicycles outside a Long Island City hotel early in the morning on June 17.
District Attorney Katz stated, “According to the complaint, two police officers, while on patrol, observed three children on bicycles at 4:20 in the morning. In an effort to check on the children’s safety, they approached a nearby group of adults to make sure that the children were being supervised. At that point, a group of approximately five adults began punching, kicking, and shoving the officers – with two assailants throwing bikes and striking the cops.”
The defendants, Juan Munoz, 25; Alejandro Munoz, 42; Karina Navarro-Chavez, 42; all of 10th Street in Long Island City, and Miguel Chiluisa, 23, of Roosevelt Avenue in Corona, were arraigned before Judge Edward Daniels. They face charges of attempted gang assault in the first degree, attempted assault in the first degree, assault in the second and third degrees, obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, resisting arrest, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. Additionally, Juan Munoz, Alejandro Munoz, and Navarro-Chavez are charged with endangering the welfare of a child, while Chiluisa faces charges of escape in the second and third degrees.
If convicted of the top count, the defendants could face up to 15 years in prison. They are scheduled to appear in court again on June 21. An additional suspect involved in the assault is still being sought.
Details of the Incident:
- On June 17, at approximately 4:20 a.m., two police officers noticed three young children riding bicycles unattended on the sidewalk outside 38-70 12th Street in Long Island City.
- The officers approached a group of adults nearby, including a woman who has not been apprehended. The woman began yelling at and physically assaulting one of the officers, while the others surrounded him.
- Chiluisa allegedly threw a children’s bicycle at an officer, striking him, while Navarro-Chavez allegedly hit the officer on the head with an unknown object.
- The un-apprehended woman struck another officer with a bicycle, and the group collectively assaulted the officers by punching, shoving, and kicking them.
- During an attempted arrest, Juan Munoz shoved one officer to the ground, and Chiluisa fled while handcuffed.
- Chiluisa was later apprehended by another officer at 5:18 a.m. at 21st Street and 41st Avenue, with a broken handcuff still on his wrist.
- The officers were treated at a local hospital for injuries including shoulder pain and abrasions.
Assistant District Attorney Dina Hodges is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Karen Rankin, Robert Ferino, Timothy Regan, and Executive Assistant District Attorney Pishoy B. Yacoub.
