Customs Agent Guilty Of Fatal Shooting At Forest Hills Home

Jurors needed 60 minutes of deliberation before convicting a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer from Forest Hills on Monday, Oct. 26, on manslaughter charges for the fatal shooting of a neighborhood man in June 2008.

Erik Alke, 43, of Kessel Street in Forest Hills was found guilty of second degree manslaughter following a 10-day jury trial before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert McGann for the death of 50- year-old Adrian Moldovan.

“The defendant has been con- victed by a jury of his peers of recklessly drawing his weapon absent an imminent threat and taking an innocent life,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “Sadly, this case is a grim lesson why guns and alcohol are a lethal mixture.”

According to trial testimony, Moldovan and Alke’s landlord were building a patio in the backyard of the Kessel Street residence on the af- ternoon of June 26, 2008, when the victim was shot in the chest by the defendant.

It was later determined that Alke was drinking when he fired the fatal bullet from his .38-cal. revolver, law enforcement sources noted. Following his arrest, Alke was placed on modified leave by U.S. Customs.

Sentencing was scheduled by Judge McGann to take place on Nov. 9; Alke faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders under the supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa.