Queens Man Faces Life In Prison For Deadly Drug Shooting

SOUTH OZONE PARK, QUEENS -- A Queens man faces life behind bars for shooting a Brooklyn teen dead in a drug robbery gone awry, prosecutors say.

Jairam Ali Suarez, 26, of Queens Village, will serve anywhere from 45 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of fatally shooting a Brooklyn 19-year-old and wounding a Ridgewood 21-year-old with a bullet to the leg in an attempting to rob the men of a pound of marijuana, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced on Tuesday.

“There is no place in a civilized society for violence and senseless killing," Brown said. "A jury weighed the evidence and found the defendant guilty of committing a cruel and callous act motivated by greed."

The night of the killing on Jan. 6, 2015, began when John Pichardo, 19, parked his car in front of 150-22 130th St. in South Ozone Park with Wilfredo Aponte, 21, in the backseat. The two arrived with a pound of weed Suarez had arranged to buy from them, prosecutors said.

But prosecutors said Suarez slid into the car's backseat that night planning to rob them of the weed. Once inside the car, he pulled out a gun and fired a bullet into Aponte's upper right leg before turning the firearm on Pichardo and shooting him in the head, according to trial testimony. Suarez then fled the scene in an unknown direction.

Pichardo was pronounced dead at the scene and Aponte was treated at a local Queens hospital for his injuries.

Following a trial that lasted more than three weeks, a jury convicted Suarez in October of two counts of second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree robbery and second-degree attempted robbery.

“The actions of the defendant warrants imposition of a lengthy prison sentence to punish him and protect society,” Brown said in an Oct. 12 statement on the verdict.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise, who presided the trial, handed Suarez the 45-year to life sentence on Monday, Brown said.

Lead image via Shutterstock.