By Connor Adams Sheets
A four-month undercover investigation at the Pomonok Houses in Fresh Meadows has culminated in the arrests of 12 Queens suspects on drug charges, including Marc Coleman, whose mother and brother were shot July 2 while sitting in a car parked outside their home in the housing complex, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Coleman, 22 — who lost his mother, nurse Christina Coleman, 39, in the shooting and whose brother Hassan Gil, 18, was shot in the chest but survived the attack — was arrested on charges of attempted murder and menacing for allegedly firing a handgun at another man at about 11:10 p.m. June 30 in the vicinity of 67-33 Kissena Blvd., the DA said.
Police believe that shooting may have led to the retaliatory shooting July 2 of Marc Coleman’s family members in a case of mistaken identity.
Marc Coleman was also charged with three counts of criminal sale of cocaine and five counts of criminal sale of marijuana, the DA said.
Eleven other defendants — who range in age from 17 to 34 — were charged with selling cocaine, marijuana and the stimulant Benzylpiperazine — or BZP — to undercover police officers, the DA said, on 47 separate occasions over a four-month period in and around the 59-year-old public housing complex, which is home to 4,204 people.
“These arrests once again underscore our continuing commitment to put an end to drug-dealing and drug-based violence in public housing complexes,” Brown said in a statement. “This is another step toward improving the quality of life for the residents of the Pomonok Houses.”
The joint investigation between the DA’s office and the NYPD, which began in February, ended with the arrests of Marc Coleman, Troy Dawson, Devon Young, Bobby Baker, Tremayne Robinson, Shariyf Willis, Popal Rahmatulla, Daquan Tela, Ahmad Nabizada, Marilyn Walton, Troy Dawson and Clyde Harill — all of Queens, the DA said.
The defendants are variously charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal sale of marijuana, according to the DA.
Earlier this month, police arrested two suspects in the shootings of Christina Coleman and Gil.
Lerome Robinson, 21, was arrested July 6 in Albany following the capture of 20-year-old Malik Wallace July 3. The two Pomonok Houses residents were charged with murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the double shooting of the nurse and her son, according to the DA. The suspects each face up to 50 years in prison if convicted of the crimes, the DA said.
Both suspects were arraigned and ordered held without bail, according to the DA. They are due to return to court Aug. 9, according to court records.
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
