Troy Thomas, the first fugitive to be extradited from Guyana to the United States was arraigned on Thursday before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder on an indictment charging him with second-degree murder.
Justice Holder remanded Thomas to prison and set his return date for June 13, 2019.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to 25 years to life in prison, according to a statement from the Queens County District Attorney, Richard Brown.
“The defendant has been on the run for seven years, but today he is in our custody and will answer for the senseless killing of a 20-year-old man in South Richmond Hill, Queens, just before Christmas in 2011,” Brown said.
“The family of the victim deserves justice for their deceased loved one. The defendant now faces a lengthy term of incarceration for his alleged actions,” he added.
Thomas, 33 years old, formerly of 156th Street in Jamaica, Queens was extradited to the US on Wednesday to face charges in a December 2011 homicide.
The defendant, who was indicted in 2012 on murder, is accused of gunning down a young man, Keith Frank outside a house party.
According to the charges, the defendant became involved in a petty dispute with Frank. The 20-year-old victim was just blocks from his home when Thomas allegedly shot him in the chest. The young man, who’d just become a father eight months before, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The defendant fled New York City, but was tracked down and found living in Guyana, where he fought extradition.
Assistant District Attorney George J. DeLuca-Farrugia, Director of the Queens District Attorney’s Extraditions, Renditions and Property Release Services, handled the extradition and will be prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brad Leventhal, Chief of the Homicide Trials Bureau, John W. Kosinski, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.
