Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and NYPD worked together to take down 23 violent gang members.
Photo by Dean Moses
Four reputed members and associates of the 007 gang were indicted in Queens in connection with the 2023 shooting death of 16-year-old Claudia Quatey, the borough’s District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Wednesday.
The victim was seated in a vehicle directly behind the intended target—a rival gang member—when she was shot in the head and killed in St. Albans in 2023.
The defendants—Messiah Randall, Nicolson Pierrimas and Zaire Rolley—face charges including murder, conspiracy and criminal possession of a weapon.
Randall, 19, and Pierrimas, 20, and Rolley, 21 were arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on March 11 on the indictment charges.
Pointdujour, 19, is currently in custody on another matter and will be arraigned later.
“As alleged, the four defendants acted in concert to plan and carry out the murder of a perceived gang rival when they instead shot and killed 16-year-old Claudia Quatey,” Katz said.
According to the investigation, the incident started when a planned “confrontation” between two teens led to groups meeting near a park at P.S. 15 on Lucas Street at around 7:30 p.m. on May 10, 2023.
After the meeting, Quatey and four friends entered a blue Hyundai Venue. She was seated in the rear passenger’s seat, behind a reputed member of the rival TopOpp gang.
Seconds after the car drove away, Randall and Pierrimas allegedly fired multiple rounds into the vehicle before the four defendants fled the scene.
Quatey was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head days later.
The three indicted defendants were remanded with their next court dates set on March 16 for Randall and Pierrimas and April 15 for Rolley.
“We will hold the defendants accountable for this senseless tragedy and continue to work with our law-enforcement partners to dismantle gangs in this borough,” Katz said.
If convicted on all charges, the defendants face a potential sentence of up to 25 years to life in prison.
Crackdown on gangs in Queens
Wednesday’s indictment was only the latest effort to crack down on gang violence in Queens.
A year-long probe into the Bad-Co Ballout Gang and affiliated Crips sets resulted in 32 alleged gang members getting indicted on murder, attempted murder and conspiracy charges in November 2025.
The defendants were accused of at least 13 shootings since 2021, including three homicides and multiple attacks involving teenagers and bystanders.
Queens officials referred to the sting, dubbed Operation Shadyville, as the largest single gang takedown in the borough’s district attorney’s office.
