In what began as a transaction for marijuana, 18-year-old Gregory Campos was fatally shot in a Queens apartment building on February 10, 2022. The young man, a Queens College student with aspirations of becoming an air traffic controller, had met with 19-year-old Joseph Barahona at his brother's apartment in Jackson Heights for what he believed was a drug deal.
After an initial meeting inside, Barahona allegedly left to get money, and Campos escorted him out, holding the building's door for his return.
The situation took a violent turn when Barahona returned not with cash, but with two masked and armed accomplices. The trio forced Campos at gunpoint back up the stairs toward the apartment. A witness inside, seeing the robbery unfolding, slammed the apartment door shut and called for a weapon. In the ensuing panic, a man inside the apartment, identified as 36-year-old Joe Donias, fired a gun through a wall. The bullet struck Gregory Campos in the chest. He was later transported to Elmhurst Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation that followed led to the arrests of both Joseph Barahona and Joe Donias. Barahona was indicted by a Queens County grand jury and faced charges of second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and first-degree attempted robbery. Under New York state law, a person can be charged with murder if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, even if they did not fire the fatal shot. Joe Donias was also arrested and faced charges of manslaughter for firing the shot that killed Campos. The planned robbery, which was for thousands of dollars' worth of marijuana, ultimately led to the tragic death of a young man.
