Brooklyn man cleared of murder of 14-year-old girl, accused of attempted murder of teenager in Middle Village last July: DA – QNS

A Brooklyn man whose murder conviction was overturned by the Queens District Attorney’s Office in November 2022 has been indicted in connection with a fatal shooting in Middle Village.

Shamel Capers, 24, of Herzl Street, was arraigned Tuesday in Queens Superior Court on an indictment charging him with attempted murder, and Dante Hunter, 25, of Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, was arraigned in arraignment Monday on the same indictment charging him with murder and other crimes last July in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Joshua Taylor in Middle Village.

Capers was acquitted in November 2022 after the District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit re-investigated the fatal shooting of D’aja Robinson, a 14-year-old honors student who was struck by a stray gunshot as she sat on an MTA bus in Jamaica May 18, 2013. Capers, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, was released after more than eight years in prison on murder charges after the CIU reviewed dozens of witness interviews and recanted the testimony of a key witness.

On Tuesday morning, Capers was arrested in Hackensack, New Jersey, and extradited back to Queens, where he was charged later that day. Evidence collected by detectives from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood and Queens Borough North, investigating the fatal shooting of a Middle Village teenager, shows that the bullet that hit the victim was fired by Hunter, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Hunter was indicted on seven counts charging him with murder, possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

“Gun violence has caused enormous tragedy in our neighborhoods, driving too many young people into choices that negatively impact the rest of their lives,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “It’s a challenge we will continue to face.”

According to the charges, on July 23, 2023, at approximately 3:17 a.m., Joshua Taylor of Brooklyn was with several other people outside a hookah lounge at 79-28 Metropolitan Avenue. Taylor’s friend threw a drink in his hand at Capers and his friend, who had just left a nearby grocery store. A verbal dispute broke out between the two groups, resulting in Hunter joining Capers.

Minutes later, the argument escalated into a four-way shooting, during which Hunter pulled out a firearm in front of the others. Taylor was caught in the crossfire and hit by a single bullet in the chest. Emergency medical services responded to the scene and transported Taylor to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

More than two dozen 9mm shell casings were recovered at the scene and an investigation into the incident was launched. Capers was subsequently identified through surveillance footage from nearby locations and financial records from the credit and debit card he was using immediately prior to the incident. At the time of the indictment, Hunter was already in custody on a parole warrant.

“After an arduous evidence-gathering process, we have secured an indictment alleging very serious charges against both defendants in connection with this morning’s shooting, which resulted in the death of one person,” Katz said. “We will continue to devote every resource at our disposal to fighting the scourge of gun violence in this borough.”

Hunter faces 25 years to life in prison and Capers faces up to 25 years in prison. Queens Superior Court Judge Michael Aloise ordered them held without bail with a June 18 return date.