Jury Convicts Brooklyn Man For Mugging Jeweler In Forest Hills

Murphy Boney A Brooklyn resident has been convicted after a jury trial of robbing a Queens jeweler of his son’s wedding deposit— $5,900—as he exited a Forest Hills subway stop in June 2005, it was announced.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendant as Murphy Boney, 39, of Franklin Avenue. He was found guilty last Monday, Oct. 19 of second-degree robbery by a jury ofseven women and five men who deliberated for 3 1/2 hours following a one-week trial before Supreme Court Justice Gregory L. Lasak.

Sentencing was set for Nov. 18, at which time the defendant faces up to 15 years in prison.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant has been found guilty of violently attacking the victim with his bare hands and then robbing him as he lay helplessly on the ground. Justice has been done and the defendant will now be held accountable for his actions.”

According to trial testimony, the victim, who was 56 at the time, had exited the 63rd Drive subway station on June 28, 2005, when Boney attacked him from behind and slammed his head against the wall.

Boney then held the victim down on the ground and went through his pants pockets, stealing the $5,900 that he was carrying as a deposit for his son’s wedding. As the suspect fled, he was chased by the victim and police officers who were nearby on an unrelated matter.

The bandit was apprehended by police following a lengthy pursuit along 65th Road. He still had the $5,900 in his possession.

Assistant District Attorney Rosemary Chao, of the District Attorney’s Career Criminals Major Crimes Bureau, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys James W. Evangelou, Bureau Chief, Robert J. Hanophy, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Senior Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials James C. Quinn and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials John H. Larsen.