East Elmhurst teen indicted on attempted murder charges for unprovoked stabbing of mother of three: DA (original) (raw)

Luis Emmanuel Valencia Ponce, 19, was indicted by a Queens grandy jury on attempted murder charges for stabbing a mother of three as she walked to a bus stop in March.

Photo courtesy of the NYPD

A Queens grand jury indicted an East Elmhurst teenager on charges of attempted murder, assault and other crimes for an unprovoked stabbing of a mother of three on her way to a bus stop in March.

Luis Emmanuel Valencia Ponce, 19, of 97th Street, was arraigned Tuesday in Queens Supreme Court on a five-count indictment for allegedly following the 29-year-old victim, grabbing her from behind, and without saying a word, stabbed her repeatedly. Ponce then fled to JFK Airport as he tried to leave the country.

According to the charges and investigation, on March 16 at approximately 6:17 a.m., Ponce began to stalk Lisette Ramales near the intersection of 94th Street and 23rd Avenue. As she waited to cross the intersection to her bus stop, Ponce approached her with a knife in hand and allegedly stabbed her multiple times. He paused momentarily and proceeded to stab her repeatedly again, before running off without saying a word before, during or after the unprovoked attack.

EMS responded to the location and rushed Ramales to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, with a punctured lung and four stab wounds requiring 11 stitches. Detectives from the 115th Precinct recovered a bloody knife on the ground approximately 15 feet away from the intersection.

Later that morning, at around 11:15 a.m., Ponce made his way to JFK, where he attempted to board a flight to Peru, according to a law enforcement source. When he attempted to go through a checkpoint without having an airline ticket, he was stopped by Port Authority police

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Through an NYPD alert, Port Authority Police Officer Anthony Amelio recognized Ponce as the attempted murder suspect in the case of Lisette Ramales. Ponce was not arrested but was transported by EMS to an area hospital for further evaluation. Detectives from the 115th Precinct were notified and confirmed the suspect’s identity. After the NYPD released surveillance images of Ponce the day after the unprovoked attack, his father convinced the would-be fugitive to turn himself in. His father escorted him into the 115th Precinct just after midnight on Thursday, March 19.

“New Yorkers deserve to go about their commutes without fear of attack,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “As alleged, this defendant shattered that sense of safety when he approached a woman from behind on her way to a bus stop and repeatedly stabbed her.” Ponce was additionally charged with obstructing governmental administration and criminal possession of a weapon. Queens Supreme Court Justice Bruna DiBiase continued remand and ordered Ponce to return to court on July 29.

“Fortunately for the victim — a mother of three — survived her serious injuries,” Katz said. “A grand jury has now indicted the defendant, who faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.”