Crime & Safety
Teenager Charged After Stray Bullet Kills Queens Mom, DA Says
Dajuan Williams is accused of killing Gudelia Vallinas, a Queens mother-of-two, who was shot in the head in a gang-related cross-fire.
ASTORIA, QUEENS — A teenager who opened fire at a suspected gang member in Queens has been charged with murder after a stray bullet hit a mother-of-two in the head, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
Gudelia Vallinas, 37, was walking home on 48th Street at Broadway, near the Woodside Houses in Astoria, at 8:14 p.m. on March 12 when Dajuan Williams and an accomplice fired five shots at another man, Katz said.
The woman was hit once and pronounced dead at a hospital.
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Williams, 19, who lives in the Woodside Houses, was charged last Thursday with murder and two weapons charges. He faces 25-years-to-life in prison if convicted.
“Once again, the combination of guns and gangs has devastated a family and stunned a community. The defendant is charged with a truly senseless crime, another tragic
reason why we need to get guns off our streets,” said District Attorney Melinda Katz.
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