QUEENS MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN STRAY BULLET KILLING OF YOUNG MOTHER IN ASTORIA: Defendant Faces Up to 25 Years-to-Life in Prison If Convicted

UsaNewsOnline.Com Desk, New York : Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced April 2 that Dajuan Williams, 19, is facing murder and weapons charges for allegedly shooting and killing a 37-year-old mother of two young children last month. The victim, an innocent bystander, was hit by a bullet intended for a rival gang member.
District Attorney Katz said, “Once again, the combination of guns and gangs has devastated a
family and stunned a community. The defendant is charged with a truly senseless crime, another tragic reason why we need to get guns off our streets.”
Williams, of the Woodside Houses, was arraigned last night before Queens Criminal Court Judge
Jeffrey Gershuny on a complaint charging him with murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Judge Gershuny remanded the defendant and set his return date for April 6, 2021. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison.
DA Katz said the victim, Guedelia Vallinas, was shot in the head on March 12, 2021, at 8:14 p.m.
as she was walking on 48th Street at Broadway, a few blocks from the Woodside Houses. The defendant and an accomplice were allegedly shooting at a rival gang member.
The pair allegedly fired at least five shots. Mrs. Vallinas was struck once and instantly fell to the
ground. She was taken to a nearby Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at approximately 10:15 p.m.
Supervising Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Mendoza, with assistance from Assistant District
Attorneys Joanna Matuza and Kevin Timpone of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau are prosecuting the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Jonathan Sennett, Bureau Chief, and Michelle E. Goldstein, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Gerard Brave.
Criminal complaints and indictments are accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty. Press Release.