Homeless woman charged with choking teen outside Queens restaurant: NYPD

QUEENS, N.Y. — Police arrested a homeless woman on Saturday after she allegedly choked a 16-year-old girl while the teen sat at an outdoor dining table in Queens earlier this week.

The chilling incident, which was caught on surveillance video, happened on Monday just after 5:20 p.m. at a sushi restaurant on Ditmars Boulevard, near 33rd Street, according to the NYPD.

The teen was sitting at a restaurant table when the suspect snuck up behind her and wrapped her arm around the victim’s neck, briefly obstructing her breathing before letting go, the video shows.

The suspect walked away but then approached the teen again before someone else appeared to intervene, the video shows. The suspect then fled the scene, police said.

The teen sustained pain, redness and swelling on her neck but was not taken to a hospital, according to the NYPD.

????WANTED????for Strangulation in front of in the vicinity of at 33-10 Ditmars Boulevard #steinway #queens On 10/04/21 @ 5:22PM Reward up to $3500 Seen him? Know who he is? Call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM us! Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! #yourcityyourcall pic.twitter.com/vGVqpQK71j

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) October 9, 2021

Investigators initially identified the suspect as a man, however, police on Sunday announced the arrest of a 36-year-old woman, Minerva Martinez, in connection with the case.

The NYPD charged Martinez, who is homeless, with one count of strangulation.