On Memorial Day, May 28, 2018, a burst of violence inside a residence on 104th Street in Ozone Park, Queens, claimed the life of 27-year-old Jonathan Polanco. At approximately 11 a.m., Polanco was with three other men when gunfire erupted. He was struck once in the neck and was later pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Two other men were also wounded in the shooting; one was shot in the torso and the other in the hand, but both survived their injuries.
The shooter was
identified as Denzel Floyd, a 24-year-old resident of Ozone Park. Following the shooting, Floyd fled the scene in a black 2010 Mazda, leading to a high-speed car crash at the intersection of 111th Street and 107th Avenue after he ran a red light. Abandoning the vehicle, Floyd attempted to escape on foot, taking with him a pink. 380-caliber semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting. Officers from the 106th Precinct later recovered the loaded weapon near a house on 110th Street where Floyd had discarded it.
Denzel Floyd was subsequently arrested and, in October 2021, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the first degree. In February 2022, Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise sentenced Floyd to 16 years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz stated that the sentencing brought a resolution to the case, though it could not undo the tragic loss of life and the injuries caused by Floyd's actions on that Memorial Day.
