A group of undocumented immigrant squatters with guns were arrested in the basement of a Bronx apartment building, where authorities said they found a stash of drugs in the space they shared with a young child.
NYPD collared seven suspects after they were called to a Hull Street home on a report of a man with a gun around 10 p.m. last Wednesday, NYPD Sergeant John Chell said. Multiplied by
When officers arrived, they saw a man pointing a pistol at someone standing in the driveway, Chell said. However, as officers approached, the suspect left and quickly returned to the building’s basement.
The officers allegedly chased and tackled the gunman, later identified as Hector Desousa Villalta, 24, of Venezuela.
Chell said another man, Javier Alborno, 22, also from Venezuela, tried to sneak out of the same basement with a handgun under his arm. However, a police officer saw him and soon he was also handcuffed, Chell added.
When authorities searched the apartment, they found two more guns (including one so-called “ghost gun”), as well as three extended magazines, boxes of ammunition, bags of ketamine, and bags of ketamine mixed with cocaine. was found, Chell said.
Some of the children were as young as 7 years old, but their parents are not known.
According to police sources, the suspects are DeSousa Villalta, Alborno, Yojailo Martinez, Johan J. Cárdenas DeSilva, Yervin Rosado Muñoz, Yoesy Castillo, and Miguel. Seven suspects were arrested and charged with possession of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Chell said Desouza Villalta and Alborno were already well known to authorities and were ordered released on bail.
DeSousa Villalta’s unsolved case dates back to August 2023, when authorities say he shot a fellow immigrant in the leg during an argument over a woman in Yonkers.
But the attempted murder failed because the victim refused to cooperate, Chell said.
Police said Alborno was arrested in the Bronx last September and charged with possession of a loaded firearm.
A judge released him without bail, despite the Bronx district attorney’s request for $10,000 bail, Chell said.
The third suspect, Barrios, is wanted on retail theft and shoplifting charges in both Pennsylvania and New York. He is being held on $25,000 bail and could be extradited to those states for prosecution.
The remaining suspects were released on their own recognizance or supervised release.
Meanwhile, the building’s owner told police he didn’t know anyone living in the basement, Chell said.
According to the landlord, he originally rented it to a man named Eduardo. He then takes the suspects to court and seeks their eviction, Cheru added.
Several of the suspects are also being sought for their participation in a robbery in Bergen County, New Jersey.
However, police say they have not yet been charged.
