Authorities have announced the arrest of a Far Rockaway resident involved in a violent altercation and subsequent riot at a car meetup in Queens, which escalated to a car being set on fire. The incident unfolded when a homeowner confronted a gathering of car enthusiasts, asking them to vacate his property.
The accused, 19-year-old Justin Aguilera, faces multiple charges including gang assault, assault, trespassing, and riot. The charges stem from his alleged participation in the disturbances that erupted following the homeowner’s request, according to police reports.
As Aguilera was escorted from the 109th Precinct station house on Thursday night, he remained silent and avoided eye contact, keeping his head lowered.
Investigators were able to connect Aguilera to the scene through his vehicle, a development that quickly led to his arrest, a law enforcement source revealed to the Daily News.
The event in question involved around 50 vehicles converging on 141st St. near 11th Ave. in Whitestone on November 23, where participants engaged in activities such as drag racing and performing stunts like donuts. The chaotic gathering took a destructive turn when fireworks set off by the crowd ignited an unoccupied Ford Fusion, which was parked nearby, at approximately 12:30 a.m., according to police.
Amid the chaos, the revelers set off fireworks that ignited a parked and unoccupied Ford Fusion around 12:30 a.m., cops said.
Aguilera then allegedly joined in a gang beatdown of 50-year-old Blake Ferrer, who lives on the block, after the Queens homeowner confronted those partying on his lawn.
“There were over 50 cars right on my block, in all different directions, four to six people getting out of each car to go watch the drag racing and lighting a car on fire,” said the victim’s wife, Melissa Ferrer, also 50. “We were just trying to get people to leave and get off our property. We shouldn’t have confronted all these people. They were young and ended up attacking us.”
“I was fighting people off to protect my husband and my house,” added the wife, who was punched in the face but did not require medical treatment. “He has fractures all over his body. One person punched me.”
“Once my husband was down, they knew not to go further or else they would have killed him,” Melissa Ferrer added. “They scattered and went in the cars.”
Medics rushed the husband, who suffered a broken nose and ribs, to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens in stable condition.
City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens) in a post on X blamed “a large group of individuals from outside my district” and said the NYPD was slow to respond.
“These violent street takeovers should be met with maximum force by the police department. We have NEVER had these problems before. Now it’s an epidemic. What changed? We stopped arresting criminals.”
An NYPD spokesperson later said a chief met with Paladino and local residents on Sunday and that patrols will be increased in the neighborhood.
The spokesperson noted it was a busy night in the precinct and cops were responding to multiple high-priority incidents, including a DWI arrest, a hospital transport and a crash with injuries.
The car meetup incident was escalated to a criminal mischief case as more information came in and a patrol supervisor then arrived on scene about 10 minutes later, the spokesperson said.
Last week, police released photos of two other suspects, both believed to be between 18 and 24, who joined in beating Ferrer and have not been apprehended.
Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. Calls are confidential.
