You are reading

Man Indicted for Murder in Stray Bullet Killing of Jackson Heights Woman

Bertha Arriaga (Photo: GoFundme)

Oct. 29, 2020 By Christian Murray

A Corona man has been indicted by a Queens Grand jury on murder, manslaughter and other charges for the stray-bullet killing of a woman who was in her Jackson Heights apartment last month.

Issam Elabbar, 31, was arraigned today on a seven-count indictment including murder in the second degree for firing a single shot in the early hours of Sept. 30 that ripped through a 3rd floor window killing a mother of three.

“Inside your home, you expect to be safe. You expect your loved ones to be safe from the violence and senseless mayhem that of late has plagued our neighborhood streets,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. “But, last month an innocent woman became the victim of a senseless act of gun violence while in her own home.”

According to the charges, Elabbar and another man were on the sidewalk on 34th Avenue near 92nd Street attempting to steal a bike at around 1 a.m. on Sept 30. Elabbar turned around and fired a shot into the air over his left shoulder and it went through a glass bedroom window and hit Bertha Arriaga in the neck.

Arriaga, 43, fell to the floor with blood pouring from the gunshot and she struggled to breathe. The victim’s 14-year-old son found her after hearing gurgling noises. She later died.

Elabbar, who lived on 41st Avenue, faces 25-years-to-life in prison and has a return date of Jan. 21, 2021.

He was indicted on charges of murder in the second degree; manslaughter in the second degree; criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; attempted petit larceny; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree; and unlawful possession of pistol ammunition.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 
Joe

A perfect case for an expedite death penalty. If laws and punishments don’t get tougher on criminals like this one, it’s going to keep happening.
Ms Arriaga should be alive today.

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Twenty people indicted in Queens-based $4.6M vehicle theft ring after three-year probe: DA

Twenty individuals were indicted and variously charged in a wide-ranging scheme to steal cars in Queens, throughout New York City and its suburbs, following a three-year investigation by the Queens District Attorney’s Office, the NYPD, and the New York State Police dubbed “Operation Hellcat,” into the criminal enterprise based in Queens.

Some of the vehicles were stolen from owners’ driveways, some with the keys or key fobs inside. The stolen vehicles were often sold through advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The defendants are charged in nine separate indictments for a total of 373 counts, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday.

Masked gunman robs Total Wireless store in Flushing, steals $6K: NYPD

Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are looking for a masked gunman who pulled off an armed robbery at a cell phone store on the night of Monday, May 5.

The suspect entered the Total Wireless shop located in the old Hua Cheng Restaurant at 41-19 Kissena Blvd., across the street from the Queens Public Library branch, just before 7 p.m. He approached the counter, pulled out a firearm, and threatened the 27-year-old woman who was working the night shift, police said Wednesday.