On a Sunday night in November 2022, what initially appeared to be a single-vehicle accident in Flushing, Queens, quickly turned into a homicide investigation. Twenty-five-year-old Tao Wu was found unconscious inside his overturned 2022 BMW at the intersection of 37th Avenue and Parsons Boulevard. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
While the scene suggested a fatal crash, a deeper look by investigators revealed a more sinister cause of death: a gunshot wound to Wu's upper back.
Surveillance footage later released by the NYPD painted a clearer picture of the tragic events. Just before 10 p.m., as Wu sat in his parked BMW, a white Mercedes-Benz sedan pulled alongside him. A person emerged from the rear of the Mercedes, approached Wu's driver-side window, and fired a single shot, striking him in the back. As the gunman returned to the Mercedes, which then sped away, a wounded Wu attempted to flee in his own vehicle. However, he soon lost control, striking a curb and causing his car to roll over.
The investigation into Wu's death led to a significant breakthrough more than a year later. In January 2024, federal prosecutors announced the indictment of four alleged members of the Trinitarios street gang in connection with a series of violent crimes in Queens, including the murder of Tao Wu. The suspects were identified as Jonathan Rodriguez, 22, of Queens; Amaury Guzmán, 24, of Brooklyn; Ian 'Gallina' Diez, 19, of Brooklyn; and Ruffi 'Mojatoto' Fernández, 26, of Staten Island.
According to the indictment, the series of crimes began with the theft of the white Mercedes-Benz in New Jersey. The indictment alleges that on the evening of November 20, 2022, Guzmán and Rodriguez used the stolen vehicle to approach Wu. Prosecutors stated that Rodriguez fired the fatal shot as Wu tried to drive away from an attempted armed carjacking. Following the shooting, the gang members were linked to another armed carjacking just two days later. Rodriguez was apprehended near the scene of a subsequent collision involving the stolen vehicles, where a 9mm ghost gun was recovered. Ballistic analysis allegedly matched the weapon to the gun used in Wu's murder. The four men face a range of charges, with Guzmán and Rodriguez facing a potential life sentence if convicted.
