A detective from the 72nd precinct took the stand to testify about a robbery and murder case that occurred at a gambling den on 7th Avenue in Brooklyn. A victim, injured during the attack, managed to use his cellphone to capture the license plate of the getaway car, providing crucial evidence for the police.
Detective Ioannis Kyrkos, who has served for 20 years in the NYPD, recounted how he was summoned to a Chinese gambling den at the corner of 7th Avenue and 58th Street on the night of February 26, 2021, after receiving a frantic call about a robbery-murder incident. Upon his arrival at 723 58th Street, he found the interior in disarray, with overturned furniture and playing cards scattered everywhere.
Detective Kyrkos then proceeded to the scene of the struggle at 7th Avenue and 57th Street, where he observed bloodstains and a crowd of onlookers. In an effort to preserve the crime scene, he quickly cordoned off the area. Meanwhile, several victims had already been rushed to a nearby hospital. On-site, he gathered information from emergency responders and obtained a photograph of the license plate of the white Mercedes-Benz involved in the incident, which read JLH9539. He promptly relayed this information to headquarters, urging officers across the area to intercept and search the vehicle.
Around 10:30 PM that same night, Detective Kyrkos visited NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn to speak with two of the victims, Jiang Anquan and Liu Yongfa. Jiang had sustained multiple stab wounds to his chest, back, and waist, while Liu had been stabbed twice in the right side and once in the arm. Despite their severe injuries, both were expected to survive. Shortly after, at 12:20 AM on February 27, Kyrkos met with Lin Xiong, who had also been stabbed but managed to capture the assailant’s vehicle license plate.
In the early hours of the 27th, approximately four hours after the incident, the police received a report of the white Mercedes-Benz bearing the license plate JLH9539 in the Eerie Basin area of Brooklyn. A man was seen moving between that car and another Lincoln MKX, seemingly transferring items. Detective Kyrkos immediately directed local officers to detain both vehicles and transport them to the precinct to secure potential evidence.
Following the acquisition of arrest and search warrants, the police apprehended the suspect, William Smith, on the 27th, collecting articles of clothing, his wallet, and an iPhone 11 Pro as evidence. The next day, a search of the Lincoln yielded an illegal firearm.
Upon examining Smith’s cellphone, investigators found he had made contact with two individuals named Chris and Keece shortly before and after the robbery. With warrant authorization, the police tracked these two individuals’ phones. A review of surveillance video captured near the crime scene revealed another vehicle, a GMC Savannah, as part of the incident.
During the court hearing on the 15th, a forensic expert named Lori-Ann Petrosino testified. Specializing in biological testing and DNA analysis, she noted that DNA recovered from the illegal firearm matched three individuals, one of them being Smith. During cross-examination, Smith’s attorney, Mahmoud R. Rabah, raised several questions regarding the DNA evidence, such as whether it indicates a possibility, the distinction between first-hand and second-hand DNA, and if DNA evidence can expire or become invalid.
