Elmont man convicted of attempted murder for March 2020 shooting of wife

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Malcom White of Elmont has been convicted of attempted murder for the shooting of his 34-year-old wife during a dispute at a hotel in Jamaica, Queens in March 2020.

White, who is 44 and lives on Kirkman Avenue in Elmont, was convicted on July 22 by a jury after a two-week trial.

In March 2020, White’s wife was found bleeding from a gunshot wound and serious facial injuries.

According to trial testimony, emergency medical technicians and police officers responded to a 911 call from the Hillside Hotel on Queens Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens on March 27 two years ago. After searching to find the exact source of the earlier call, another call led to White, who was sharing a room at the hotel with his wife, Charisse Ayres. When EMTs contacted White’s room, he effectively told them, according to a statement released by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz’s office, that, “If you come in here, I’ll blow her head off.”

Police then responded to the hotel to search for the couple and their room. Charissa Ayres was found naked in the hotel lobby with a gunshot wound to her arm and with several bone fractures to her face.

Inside White’s room, police found blood in various places. They later recovered a fired bullet from a drained bathtub as well as two cell phones – one concealed under the mattress and another in the toilet. The discovery of stacked tires beneath a broken window in the hotel room led police to conduct a search of the area outside the hotel room. White was then discovered naked behind the hotel, where police also recovered an unloaded revolver.

“I am committed to holding accountable those who perpetuate acts of brutal violence against their intimate partners, and this case is especially heinous,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in the statement that announced White’s conviction.  

White was found guilty of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. His sentencing was set for September 28. White faces between 25 years to life in prison.

— Robert Traverso