QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR THREATENING TRANSGENDER WOMAN WITH ILLEGAL FIREARM

Usanewsonline.com desk: Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced  that Quame Truitt, 24, has been sentenced  to five years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon for a September  2021 incident in which the defendant pointed an illegal firearm at a transgender woman in Jamaica, Queens.  

District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant threatened a transgender woman just because she is a  transgender woman. While being chased by police, the defendant discarded the gun. It was recovered and  the defendant apprehended. He has now been sentenced by the Court for his criminal actions. The diversity  of Queens County is our greatest strength and we will not tolerate acts of violence based on someone’s race,  gender or appearance.”  

Earlier this month, Truitt, of 162nd Street in Jamaica, Queens, pleaded guilty to attempted criminal  possession of a weapon in the second degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Frances Wang. Today,  Justice Wang sentenced the defendant as a violent predicate felon to five years in prison, to be followed by  five years’ post release supervision.  

According to the Court records, on September 5, 2021, the woman was walking along 162nd Street  in Jamaica just after 6 p.m. when she encountered the defendant. When the two were near one another, Truitt  reached toward his waist and told the victim, “You don’t belong here.”  

Continuing, the DA said, the defendant pulled a pistol from a bag and pointed it at the victim. The  woman got away from the defendant and found a police officer in a nearby patrol car and alerted him of  what had happened. She also provided the police officer with a description of the man who pointed a gun at  her. The defendant was apprehended a short time later and police recovered the firearm in an area trash can.  

Assistant District Attorney Michael Brovner, Chief of the District Attorney’s Hate Crimes Bureau,  prosecuted the case under the supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials Pishoy B.  Yacoub.  Press Release