Cristian Taipe of Astoria and Natali Iza were among the six adults who attacked police officers in front of a Long Island City migrant shelter just over a year ago while they were checking on children who were riding bikes before dawn. Photos courtesy of the NYPD
July 3, 2025 By Bill Parry
A Corona man was sentenced on Wednesday to one to three years in prison for being part of a mob that ambushed two police officers outside a migrant shelter in Long Island City just over a year ago.
Miguel Chiluisa, 24, of Roosevelt Avenue, and Natali Iza, 28, address unknown, pleaded guilty on May 27 to two counts of attempted assault in the second degree and became the last of six defendants to be sentenced for the attack on the officers from the 114th Precinct in Astoria who were checking on the welfare of three unattended children and when they approached nearby adults they were surrounded and assaulted.
According to the charges, during the pre-dawn hours of June 17, 2024, the two cops spotted three children alone and riding bikes on the sidewalk near the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel, located at 38-70 12th St., which was converted into a shelter for migrants in February 2023.
The Wingate by Wyndham Hotel on 12th Street in Long Island City was converted into a shelter for migrants in February 2023. Photo via Google Maps
The children rode their bikes toward a group of adults in the vicinity of the hotel. When the officers approached the adults to speak to them, Iza began to yell at the cops and pushed one of them. As the six adults surrounded the cops, Chiluisa picked up one of the children’s bikes and threw it at the police, striking one of the officers.
Karina Navarro-Chavez, 42, of 10th Street in Long Island City, struck one of the officers on the back of his head with an unknown object, and Iza grabbed another bicycle and struck one of the cops. The gang of six began to punch, shove, and kick the two officers.
One of the officers managed to handcuff Chiluisa, but he slipped away and fled the scene. Chiluisa was observed by another police officer inside the 21st Street-Queensbridge subway station at approximately 5:16 a.m. and was placed under arrest while he still had the broken handcuffs dangling from one wrist.
Juan Munoz, 25, Alejandro Munoz, 42, of 10th Street in Long Island City, and Navarro-Chavez were all taken into custody at the crime scene. Defendants Iza and Christian Taipe, 30, of 36th Avenue in Astoria, surrendered at the 114th Precinct in Astoria the following day.
The injured officers were transported to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where they were listed in stable condition and treated for injuries, including shoulder pain and abrasions.
“Two NYPD members, who observed young children playing outside after 4 a.m., attempted to do a welfare check outside a hotel in Long Island City,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “When the officers asked a group of nearby adults about the three children, they were mercilessly set upon and assaulted.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Leigh Cheng sentenced Chiluisa on Wednesday to one to three years in prison. Iza was sentenced to one to three years in prison on June 17. Tiape also pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted assault in the second degree on May 12 and was sentenced to one to three years in prison on June 9.
“This case sends a strong message that anyone who assaults members of our uniformed services will face serious consequences,” Katz said.
Defendants Alejandro Munoz, Juan Munoz, and Navarro-Chavez were each sentenced to a year in prison after all three pleaded guilty to riot in the second degree.
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