By Nathan Duke and Ivan Pereira
Four bullets were fired early Tuesday morning into the Oakland Gardens home of an acting State Supreme Court justice who had worked in the past as a prosecutor against drug dealers and murderers, police said.
Two bullets were found lodged into the home of State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho near 64th Avenue in Oakland Gardens just after 4 a.m. Tuesday and another two bullets struck the side of the house, police said.
Neighbor Lawrence Lefkowitz, 82, said he was awakened by the noise and ran outside to see what was going on.
“I could tell they were gunshots and immediately after the gunshots the alarm went off. I saw a car drive off…and 45 minutes later the police showed up,” he said.
The judge was not home at the time of the shooting and no one was injured, police said. The incident was still under investigation and no arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning, police said.
Camacho had currently been working as an acting Supreme Court justice on domestic violence cases in the Kew Gardens courthouse. The judge was part of a team that helped bring down Washington Heights gang Jheri Curls and the Wild Cowboys, The New York Times reported.
Lefkowitz, who has lived on the block for more than 40 years, said Camacho moved into the Cape Cod-style house around five years ago with his wife and young daughter. The neighbor said the judge is friendly and Lefkowitz has “a nodding relationship” with him and his family.
“It's a rather close-knit neighborhood,” he said.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
