Tuesday, December 7, 2004
LANDLORD CONVICTED OF PLOTTING NEAR-FATAL KNIFE ASSAULT ON TENANTS; HIRED SECOND FLOOR TENANTS WHO ATTACKED THIRD FLOOR TENANTS TO FORCE THEM TO VACATE THEIR RENT-CONTROLLED APARTMENT
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a Queens landlord has been convicted of plotting a near-fatal knife assault of two brothers who had a rent-controlled apartment in his building. A jury found that the landlord hired the second-floor tenants of his Elmhurst, Queens three-story brownstone to attack the brothers who were third floor tenants in order to clear them out of their two-bedroom, rent-controlled apartment.
District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant has been found guilty of conspiring to arrange an attack on his tenants in order to get them out of their rent-controlled apartment so he could raise the rent by $1,400 a month. He agreed to pay $2,500 to the assailants and fortunately the victims survived the assault. The crime warrants imposition of a substantial prison sentence.”
District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Juan Basagoitia, 50, a landlord and building owner who resides at 40-18 Ithaca Street in Elmhurst, Queens, where the attack occurred.
A jury of 5 men and 7 women deliberated less than six hours over two days before returning a guilty verdict following a two-week trial in Queens Supreme Court before Justice John B. Latella, Jr. The court set sentencing for January 12, 2005. The defendant faces up to 50 years to life in prison.
Basagoitia was found guilty of all charges including Attempted Murder in the First and Second Degree, Conspiracy in the Second and Fourth Degree, Burglary in the First and Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree.
The second floor tenants –- Danny Machuca, 28, unemployed, and David Robles, 36, a truck driver, were previously convicted of attempted murder and other charges. Robles was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. Machuca is awaiting sentencing.
According to the criminal charges, on March 4, 2003 about 2:35 a.m. defendants’ David Robles and Danny Machuca, while armed with knives, unlawfully entered the third floor apartment of two brothers -- William, 35, and David Lavery, 40, -- through the kitchen window after climbing up the fire escape and then attacked, beat, slashed and stabbed them numerous times, causing them to sustain serious injuries that required surgery. The defendants fled through the same kitchen window and were arrested shortly afterward at the scene.
Detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant several hours after the near-fatal attack and recovered a knife, clothing and gloves apparently stained with blood and a knife from the second floor apartment they occupied.
According to trial testimony, the co-defendants, Robles and Machuca, entered the brothers’ apartment because they had been paid by the defendant to “get rid of” the brothers. Additionally, the testimony further established that the defendant agreed to pay Robles $2,500 to “take out” the brothers and that he paid Robles and Machuca $700 in cash in advance and agreed to pay them an additional $1,800 when the brothers were killed.
The defendant was arrested on Saturday, March 8, 2003 and has been held without bail since then. Co-Defendants Robles and Machuca were arrested on March 4, 2003.
The investigation was conducted by Detective James M. Osorio of the New York Police Department’s 110th Precinct Detective Unit under the supervision of Sergeant Larry Z. Fay and the overall supervision of Lieutenant Steve J. Jaworoski, Commanding Officer.
Assistant District Attorney Brad A. Leventhal, Deputy Chief, of the District Attorney's Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case assisted by Assistant District Attorney Valerie A. Batista under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney James W. Evangelou, Bureau Chief and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials James C. Quinn and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials John H. Larsen.