Suspect indicted in connection to slaying of 10-year-old NYC boy


The suspect who allegedly gunned down a 10-year-old boy during a parking dispute in Queens was indicted Thursday in connection to the senseless slaying.

Jovan Young, 29, the suspect in the June 5 shooting death of Justin Wallace at his aunt’s home in Far Rockaway, appeared Thursday morning in Queens Criminal court, where he was indicted on second-degree murder and other related charges.

Young, who was wearing brown prison garb and cuffed behind his back, only uttered one word in court. When he was asked, “Are you Jovan Young?” he replied, “Yes.”

His attorney, Ken Finkelman, entered a “not guilty” plea for his client.

Finkelman attempted to waive Young’s appearance, out of concern that photos posted in the media of Young in prison clothing might prejudice his client’s chance of having a fair trial.

But Judge Michael Aloise denied Finkelman’s bid.

Aloise ordered that Young continue to be held without bail, ahead of his next court date, set for Sept. 16.

If convicted, Young faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

Defendant Jovan Young appears at Queens Criminal court.
Defendant Jovan Young appears at Queens Criminal court.
Brigitte Stelzer

But the mother of Young’s children, who did not want to be identified, told the Post in court that she still thinks he is innocent.

“No, I still don’t think that,” she said when asked if she thinks Young was responsible for the crime. “He just don’t want to talk. He doesn’t want to snitch.”

“Of course, I’m standing by him,” the woman added. “It has to be investigated more – they don’t have no weapon……they still don’t have a lot of details.”

But she said she is “praying for everyone involved.”

“I don’t know what to say because I feel for the family, too,” she said. “Of course, I’m sad, but, you know, justice has to be served in [whatever] way. We will find out the truth.”

Suspect Jovan Young fired shots that hit Justin Wallace and his uncle.
Suspect Jovan Young fired shots that hit Justin Wallace and his uncle.
Brigitte Stelzer
10-year-old Justin Wallace was fatally shot in the stomach.
10-year-old Justin Wallace was fatally shot in the stomach.
Dan Herrick

Justin was shot around 9:30 p.m. on June 5 — three days before his 11th birthday — when Young allegedly walked up to the home and fired multiple shots that penetrated the screen door.

One bullet ripped into Justin’s stomach, killing him.

The boy’s 29-year-old uncle was struck in his neck and hand.

The shooting stemmed from a long-running dispute over the shared driveway at the home, police said.

Suspect Jovan Young is escorted out of the 101 Precinct command on Jun 8, 2021.
Suspect Jovan Young is escorted out of the 101 Precinct command on Jun 8, 2021.
Paul Martinka

“A community is still reeling from this family’s unfathomable loss to gun violence,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in a statement. “As alleged, the defendant fired multiple times into an occupied house without any concern for the lives he was putting in danger, murdering a 10-year-old boy and wounding the child’s uncle. He now faces justice in the Courts – and we must do all that we can to [put an] end to the cycle of violence causing so much grief in our neighborhoods.”

Another man involved in the dispute that preceded the deadly shooting was busted last week with a half-dozen firearms, cops said.

Cops executed a search warrant at Ashram Lochan’s home on Beach 45th Street in Far Rockaway — the home next to where Justin was killed — and found the illicit cache the night of July 8, authorities said.

Surveillance footage shows the shared driveway where suspect Jovan Young fired his gun in Queens.
Surveillance footage shows the shared driveway where suspect Jovan Young fired his gun in Queens.
DCPI

Lochan was charged for criminal possession of one 9mm handgun, one .380 handgun, one .410 revolver, and two flare guns, Chief Rodney Harrison said in a tweet last Friday.

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