Two Men Plead Guilty in Queens Shooting That Killed 10 Year Old Justin Wallace
By Tiffany Williams –
A dispute over a shared driveway ended with gunfire tearing into a Queens home, killing 10-year-old Justin Wallace and seriously injuring another man. Now, Ashram Lochan and Jovan Young have pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the 2021 shooting, with sentencing scheduled for later this month.
Lochan, 32, pleaded guilty last month before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant. The judge indicated that she would sentence him on October 16 to 19 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Young, 34, entered his guilty plea on October 6 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky. Yavinsky indicated that he would sentence Young on October 23 to 24 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
According to the indictment and investigation, Lochan became involved in a dispute on June 5, 2021, with his next-door neighbor, Kyle Forrester, 29, over their shared driveway on Beach 45th Street. Later that evening, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Young acted at Lochan’s direction and fired a pistol multiple times into Forrester’s residence and toward him as he entered his front door.
Forrester was struck multiple times in the back, once in the hand and once in the neck. He was immediately taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, while Justin, who was inside the home near the door, was struck once in the chest.
The boy was immediately transported to a local hospital, where he later died from the gunshot wound. The gunfire that followed the driveway dispute killed a child who was inside the targeted home.
ABoth men pleaded guilty in satisfaction of indictments that variously charged them with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence. Their guilty pleas resolve those indictments, while the prison terms indicated by the judges await the scheduled sentencing hearings.
