19-Year-Old Queens Teen Could Face 25 Years in Prison for Drag Racing Meetup Turned Violent
A 19-year-old from Queens is facing serious charges after a drag racing meetup on his lawn turned violent, leaving a couple with multiple broken bones. Justin Aguilera has been charged with up to 25 years in prison if convicted of gang assault and assault on Blake and Melissa Ferrer.
According to prosecutors, Aguilera was part of a group that descended upon the quiet residential block with approximately 50 cars, causing chaos and destruction as they went. The group set an empty car on fire in the middle of the street, broke glass bottles, and set off fireworks. In one harrowing incident, someone threatened to kill Melissa Ferrer, saying "I'll pop you. I'll put you six feet under. You're not hard."
The situation escalated when Blake Ferrer tried to stop someone from walking towards their front door, prompting the group to attack him. According to police and prosecutors, Aguilera was one of the principal assailants in the gang assault charges, which stem from his alleged participation with at least three other people.
Blake Ferrer was taken to a local hospital after the incident, where he suffered broken ribs, a broken shoulder, nose, thyroid fracture, and swelling to the back of his head. Melissa Ferrer also received treatment for her injuries.
Aguilera was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Friday with bail set at $100,000 cash or $300,000 bond. His next court date is set for Wednesday. Police are still seeking three others involved in the incident and have vowed to increase patrols in the area.
The community has expressed outrage over the violent incident, with City Councilmember Vickie Paladino stating that "This is not over, and I am not going to let this go until everyone involved faces consequences." She also plans to meet with city officials to discuss infrastructure improvements aimed at discouraging similar car meetups in the future.
A 19-year-old from Queens is facing serious charges after a drag racing meetup on his lawn turned violent, leaving a couple with multiple broken bones. Justin Aguilera has been charged with up to 25 years in prison if convicted of gang assault and assault on Blake and Melissa Ferrer.
According to prosecutors, Aguilera was part of a group that descended upon the quiet residential block with approximately 50 cars, causing chaos and destruction as they went. The group set an empty car on fire in the middle of the street, broke glass bottles, and set off fireworks. In one harrowing incident, someone threatened to kill Melissa Ferrer, saying "I'll pop you. I'll put you six feet under. You're not hard."
The situation escalated when Blake Ferrer tried to stop someone from walking towards their front door, prompting the group to attack him. According to police and prosecutors, Aguilera was one of the principal assailants in the gang assault charges, which stem from his alleged participation with at least three other people.
Blake Ferrer was taken to a local hospital after the incident, where he suffered broken ribs, a broken shoulder, nose, thyroid fracture, and swelling to the back of his head. Melissa Ferrer also received treatment for her injuries.
Aguilera was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Friday with bail set at $100,000 cash or $300,000 bond. His next court date is set for Wednesday. Police are still seeking three others involved in the incident and have vowed to increase patrols in the area.
The community has expressed outrage over the violent incident, with City Councilmember Vickie Paladino stating that "This is not over, and I am not going to let this go until everyone involved faces consequences." She also plans to meet with city officials to discuss infrastructure improvements aimed at discouraging similar car meetups in the future.
25 yrs in prison for a drag racing meetup gone wrong? Like what happened to common sense and respect for people's homes?! 
This is just crazy, how can you have a party on someone's lawn with all that noise and destruction and still expect no consequences? And to make matters worse, they even threatened someone with violence! 
It's not just about the property damage or the injuries, it's about the safety of innocent people. The police should be doing more to stop these kinds of events from happening in the first place. 
it's like they thought they were invincible or something 
what if the Ferrers had been home with kids?? and now b Blake's literally broken in half physically and mentally 
that $100k bail better be worth it for Aguilera lol anyway, i hope these city officials follow through on those infrastructure improvements so no one else has to go thru this nightmare 
they were just trying to live their lives and have a meetup on their lawn and then BAM! chaos erupts 
he was clearly out of control. i feel bad for them tho they're lucky to be alive 
and yeah city officials gotta do something about these car meetups theyre getting way outta hand 
. and the threats? that's just not cool, kid. 
i'm all for giving them the benefit of the doubt, but if you're gonna engage in some wild stuff, at least have the decency to be smart about it. this is just a recipe for disaster and someone's gonna get hurt 
. We need more community-led initiatives to address these kinds of problems, rather than relying solely on city officials to solve them 
This whole thing just doesn't add up... like, what was really happening that day? 50 cars show up and just start causing chaos? Sounds like an setup to me... 
And have you seen the injuries those people sustained? Multiple broken bones, that's not exactly accidental... 