Oakland Gardens woman criminally charged with attempted murder for slashing Bayside man: DA – QNS

An Oakland Gardens woman is accused of slashing a man in front of his Bayside home in an unprovoked attack on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 24.

Melissa Duran, 39, was arrested on Friday, Sept. 25, and booked at the 111th Precinct in Bayside, for assaulting the 54-year-old victim who was on the porch of his home on 53rd Avenue near 213th Street. Duran was arraigned Saturday, Sept. 26, in Queens Criminal Court, on a criminal complaint charging her with attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degree, and other related crimes.

According to the criminal complaint, Duran arrived at the residence of her mother on 212th Street near the Horace Harding Expressway just before 5:20 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Duran’s mother has an order of protection against her, but she still exited her red Honda Civic and smashed the front drivers’ side window and the rear driver’s side window on her mother’s white BMW. Duran got back into her vehicle and drove away approximately three minutes later.

Duran was back in her mother’s neighborhood the following morning when she pulled over in front of a house on 53rd Avenue near 213th Street, three blocks north of her mother’s residence. Duran exited her red Honda Civic and saw a 54-year-old man standing on his porch. She ran towards him with a black knife in her hand and shouted, “What are you looking at?”

She then raised the knife over his head and slashed him in the temple area causing a laceration from his temple to his ear and substantial pain, according to the criminal complaint. Duran sped away from the scene in her Honda Civic. The victim was transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

That night, at around 9:10 p.m., Duran returned to her mother’s home where she approached the white BMW and bashed it. Her mother heard the loud banging sounds and went to investigate a few minutes later finding numerous dents and a kitchen knife lodged in her rear bumper.

Duran was additionally charged with criminal mischief in the first degree, two counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

She was arraigned on Saturday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Martinez Alonso who set bail at $500,000 cash; $1 million partially secured bond; and $1 million bond. If convicted, Duran faces up to 25 years in prison.