12 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 11, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY EMILY DAVENPORT, SUZANNE MONTEVERDI AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
109th Precinct
College Point, Flushing and
Whitestone
Two pleaded guilty to
Whitestone slashing
A Bayside man and a Pennsylvania man
have pleaded guilty to assault charges
in connection with the slashing of a
Whitestone girl in 2015, prosecutors have
announced.
Wilson Lai, 25, of the Oakland Gardens
section of Bayside, and Devon Berkley,
39, of Allentown, PA, pleaded guilty to
fi rst-degree assault on Jan. 8, according
to Queens District Attorney Richard A.
Brown. On Feb. 14, Lai will be sentenced
to a 19-year prison sentence and Berkley
to 18 years, each followed by fi ve years
of post-release supervision, prosecutors
indicated.
According to the charges, Lai had a
one-year relationship with a Whitestone
girl, who was 14 at the time, that began
in June 2013. Two and a half years later,
Lai and Berkley conspired to assault the
teenager.
On Dec. 16, 2015, Berkley twice slashed
the face of a 14-year-old Chinese exchange
student, who happened to live in the same
residence as the intended target, as she
walked toward school near 147th Street
and 13th Avenue.
Th e victim was hospitalized and recovered
from the violent attack, but was left
with two long scars on the left side of her
face.
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Lai and Berkley were arrested in May
2016 — the result of a lengthy investigation
by the 109th Precinct Detective
Squad.
111th Precinct
Bayside, Flushing, Douglaston
and Little Neck
Perp knocks out man
at Bayside bar
Cops are looking for a suspect who
recently assaulted a man at a Bayside bar.
On Nov. 23 at around 1 a.m., police said
the 24-year-old male victim got into a verbal
dispute with an individual he believed
to be a bouncer at the Safari Beach Club
at 40-05 Bell Blvd. Th e unidentifi ed suspect
proceeded to punch the victim in his
left eye, causing him to fall to the ground.
Th e victim later told police that he lost
consciousness, and a friend helped him
exit the location. He received medical
attention at the scene but was not taken
to the hospital, law enforcement sources
said.
On Jan. 8, the 111th Precinct posted on
its Twitter account photos of the suspect,
who is described a 22-year-old white or
Hispanic male, 5 foot 8 inches, weighing
around 160 pounds. His last known residence
was on Corporal Kennedy Street
near 42nd Avenue.
Anyone with information in regards to
this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s
Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS
(8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA
(74782). Th e public can also submit their
tips by logging onto to nypdcrimestoppers.
com, or by texting their tips to
274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All
calls and messages are kept confi dential.
Th ose with tips can also contact the
111th Precinct Detective Squad at 718-
279-5282.
115th Precinct
Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson
Heights
Half-kilo of coke
seized in drug bust
Th ree men remain behind bars aft er
they were arrested last week in a Jackson
Heights drug bust.
Following a lengthy investigation, the
NYPD Queens North Narcotics Unit
conducted the operation at around 3:30
p.m. on Jan. 3 at the corner of 95th Street
and 37th Avenue, law enforcement sources
said.
According to the criminal complaint
that the Queens District Attorney’s offi ce
provided, Julio Azcona, 39, and Eduardo
Azcona, 37, were observed inside a gray
Chevrolet Tahoe SUV that pulled up
to the intersection. Detectives at the
scene spotted Johnathan Rodriguez, 24,
approach the driver’s side of the SUV
and hand Julio Azcona a black plastic bag
that appeared to contain a large amount
of cash.
Police moved in and stopped the three
suspects. Detectives recovered the bag,
which was found to contain $16,480 in
cash. In searching Rodriguez, they also
found in his waistband 10 plastic bags
containing cocaine and four bags of marijuana.
Th ey also seized $1,822 inside a
pants pocket.
Offi cers later executed a search warrant
of the Chevrolet Tahoe and found inside
a compartment a plastic vacuum-sealed
bag containing more than a half-kilo of
cocaine, with an estimated street value in
excess of $16,000.
Detectives also recovered $823 in cash
from Julio Azcona and $1,563 in currency
from Eduardo Azcona.
Th e Azconas and Rodriguez were each
charged with fi rst- and second-degree
criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Court records indicated that each
of them are being held on $25,000 bond
or $15,000 cash bail, and must return to
court on Jan. 23.
Cops slam brakes on
motorcycle theft ring
Six men, including two from Queens,
were charged this week for stealing
motorcycles off of the streets and residential
properties in Queens, Manhattan,
Brooklyn and Nassau County between
March 2016 and February 2017.
According to the indictment, Craig
Williams, 39, of Brooklyn, is alleged to
have been the ring’s location scout and
getaway driver. Williams is accused of
being scoping out desirable neighborhoods
for motorcycles as well as law
enforcement activity.
Aft er Williams would scout out the
activity, Queens District Attorney
Richard A. Brown said, members of
the crew would purposely commit driving
infractions to draw out any police
in the area.
Charges say that members of the crew
would hot wire or simply lift motorcycles
into a van so they could steal them.
On certain occasions, motorcycles were
allegedly stolen from garages of private
homes and apartment buildings.
A total of 11 motorcycles valuing an
estimated $75,000, including Yamahas,
Hondas and a Suzuki, were allegedly
stolen by the crew and sold on the
black market. Th e theft s occurred in
Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and
Nassau County.
An investigation began in March 2016
and included court-authorized wiretaps
of cellphone conversations.
Th e following men were booked on
charges including third-degree burglary,
third-degree grand larceny, third-degree
criminal possession of stolen property
and fi ft h-degree conspiracy:
Craig Williams, 39, of Brooklyn
Jose Rosa, 25, of Queens
Ivan Santiago, 33, of Brooklyn
Jonathan Santiago, 31, of Brooklyn
Hector Zamot, 31, of Queens
Hector Gonzalez, 32, of Hazleton, PA
Bail has been set at $30,000 for
Williams, $25,000 for Rosa, $15,000
for Ivan Santiago, $5,000 for Jonathan
Santiago and $10,000 for Zamot. If convicted,
each defendant faces up to seven
years in prison. Gonzalez is currently
being held in Pennsylvania and is pending
extradition to New York. Th e last
suspect has yet to be apprehended.
Photo courtesy of RHS News
Photo courtesy of NYPD
Photo via Twitter/@NYPD115Pct