Intersection of Queens Blvd and Van Dam St, NYC.
Photo: Mariela Lombard / The NY Journal
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Dorothy Hirsch, the nurse wife of the man accused of revenge killing a Chinese food delivery man in Queens, was arrested after New York police found eight guns and hundreds of ammunition at her home in that county.
The 62-year-old woman was charged with weapons possession after the NYPD raided the 84th Road residence where she lives apart from her husband Glenn Hirsch, the alleged murderer of Chinese delivery man Zhiwen Yan, in alleged revenge for an order of duck saucelast April 30.
Police have now recovered eight weapons hidden in the house along with over 200 rounds of ammunition. Some of the guns were loaded, court records show, narrowed down Daily News.
A 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol with a magazine containing nine cartridges and a 38 caliber revolver with 10 cartridges were found in a box in a closet, while a second 9mm caliber and .45 caliber revolver were found in a bag in the same closet, according to records.
Meanwhile, two .38 and .357 caliber revolvers, and two 9mm and .25 caliber pistols were found in a black zipper bag, along with the rest of the ammunition.
Dorothy Hirsch’s attorney, Mark Bederow, said she is “adamant” about her innocence and plans a vigorous defense. “She herself was initially held on $150,000 bond. (It is) a registered nurse who was never arrested, who maintains a separate residence” of her accused husband, she said. “She is not going to be used as a pawn in a case against him.”
Attorney Bederow suggested that Glenn Hirsch hid the guns in his wife’s home without her knowledge. “In order to be found guilty, it must be shown that you knowingly possessed the firearms,” he said.
Prosecutor Karen Ross said Monday that DNA was found on two of the weapons and that Glenn Hirsch agreed to the request to be tested to see if the genetic evidence matches his own.
Authorities say Glenn Hirsch, 51, shot and killed Yan on April 30 after following him on a delivery run from the “Great Wall” restaurant in Queens Blvd. Where he worked.
Hirsch was arrested June 2, pleaded “not guilty” and was released yesterday on $500,000 bond. According to detectives, the violence apparently began to brew on November 30 when he became angry that he did not receive additional duck sauce with his Chinese takeout order.
He had been harassing Yan and other staff at the Queens Blvd. restaurant for weeks before the shooting, according to witnesses.
Yan, a 45-year-old father, was shot on the night of April 30while riding his scooter near 108th St. and 67th Drive on his way to a delivery in Forest Hills. A witness told police that the delivery man was shot the driver of a Lexus SUV who then sped away from the crime scene.
The man was shot in the chest and fell off the scooter. Paramedics took him to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he died. He left a widow and three orphaned children. He also had two other jobs to support his family.
The victim worked for more than a decade at “Great Wall”, a restaurant on Northern Boulevard whose manager, Kai Yang (53), alerted the NYPD about a problem customer who was driving the same type of vehicle and with whom they had had problems in November and January. Police quickly zeroed in on Hirsch, but it took weeks to gather enough evidence to charge him.