Michael Fan, 25, of Flushing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a violent 2022 robbery in Queens. According to a press release from Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Fan had been absent during his trial in April but was still convicted for a series of crimes that included restraining a young woman, burglarizing her home, and threatening her with a knife. He was arrested in November after several months on the run.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Fan, along with two accomplices from Flushing, overpowered a 20-year-old woman in front of her Parsons Boulevard residence and brought her back into her apartment. There, the suspects zip-tied her hands and searched through her home. When police arrived, an officer saw Fan through a window, but all three suspects initially fled. Fan’s co-defendant, Sihao Wang, was apprehended shortly afterward after dropping an air pistol and the victim’s cellphone, while Fan was later found hiding under a deck in a nearby backyard with $1,441 in his possession.
Justice Gary Miret of the Queens Supreme Court sentenced Fan to 20 years in prison and ordered five years of post-release supervision. Fan’s co-defendant, Wang, 25, previously pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree robbery and is serving a two-year prison sentence with two years of post-release supervision. The third suspect, Dong Ming Shi, is believed to have left the country.
In the courtroom, Fan attempted to flee during a break after being instructed to remain in place by Justice Miret, resulting in his conviction in absentia. He was later apprehended and tried. The conviction followed the work of law enforcement and the District Attorney’s prosecution team, including Assistant District Attorneys Hugh McCann and Julia Hsieh, supervised by Michael Whitney and Karen Rankin.
