By Daniel Massey
A Richmond Hill man had his left hand chopped off Monday night by a neighbor wielding a machete after a verbal dispute over noise from firecrackers escalated into a physical confrontation, neighborhood and police sources said.
In a separate incident, an Ozone Park man strangled his girlfriend to death early Friday morning before hanging himself, police said.
The Richmond Hill fracas started about 9:20 p.m. Monday, when a neighbor complained about noise from firecrackers that John Breitenbach was setting off in front of his 94-18 124th St. home, police said.
Breitenbach responded by throwing a lit firecracker into his yard, police said, setting off a verbal altercation.
Another neighbor, Gabriel Castillo, then confronted Breitenbach in front of 94-18 124th St., sparking further verbal jousting.
Breitenbach allegedly directed racially insensitive comments toward Castillo, who is Hispanic, police sources said.
When Breitenbach, 35, suddenly brandished a knife, Castillo, 47, of 94-13 124th St., produced a machete and struck him on the left wrist, severing his hand, according to police.
Castillo fled the scene, but later turned himself in to 102nd Precinct detectives. He was charged with first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon. As of press time, no charges had been filed against Breitenbach, whose father, neighbors said, is a retired cop and whose sister is a 102nd Precinct detective.
When police arrived at the 124th Street crime scene, Breitenbach sat in a pick-up truck beside his father, who was preparing to drive his son to Jamaica Hospital. Breitenbach was initially taken there but was transferred to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where surgeons reattached his hand in a procedure that took more than 14 hours, said James Saunders, the hospital’s director of public affairs.
Breitenbach was listed in critical but stable condition Monday afternoon.
“We’re hoping that it continues to heal,” said Saunders. “But with these types of injuries you can never tell.”
Neighbors said Breitenbach was “rebellious and had a mind of his own” and that they were “horrified” by the details of Monday night.
In another grisly southern Queens incident, Neeranjan Kumar, 24, was found hanging in the garage of his family home at 104-14 122nd St. at 7:45 a.m. Friday, law enforcement officials said.
When police arrived, they found the body of his girlfriend, Niala Mohammed, 19, in a bedroom. Kumar had used a telephone cord to strangle her, police said.
Ellen Barakove, a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner’s office, said the cause of Mohammed’s death was strangulation by homicide. Kumar’s death was classified as a hanging by suicide, she said.
Mohammed had worked at the Beer Garden on 101st Avenue until about four months ago, when her boss, Rohan Seepersaud, suggested she take some time off.
“When she started dating him about four months ago, I didn’t appreciate him being here, Seepersaud said. “I just didn’t like him. He was one of those characters that was bad for the business. It affected her job, too.”
Seepersaud described Mohammed, a native of Trinidad, as a kind, beautiful girl who had an artistic side. He said she was small in stature and would have had a hard time fighting back against Kumar.
Reach reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
