A migrant accused of shooting and killing two NYPD officers claimed a violent Venezuelan gang was smuggling guns into shelters in food delivery bags, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Suspect Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 19, will be taken into protective custody after making fiery accusations against the notorious Tren de Aragua gang during a magistrate hearing in Queens Criminal Court.
From his hospital bed, Mata told police he was a gang member and had been instructed to commit the robberies, according to an audio recording read by prosecutors.
“Tren de Aragua members are hiding firearms inside food packages to bring them to shelters in the city so they don’t have to go through metal detectors,” Mata confided to police after attacking the group, the audiotape said.
The shocking revelation came as Mata, a homeless immigrant from Venezuela who entered the United States illegally last year, went on trial on a massive 20-count indictment handed down by a Queens grand jury.
He is charged with two counts of attempted murder and numerous other criminal offenses for the shooting and killing of Officers Christopher Abreu and Richard Iarrusso, both 26, in the early hours of June 3 when the officers attempted to stop a migrant on a scooter for a traffic violation.
Prosecutors said that during a wild chase, Mata pointed a .380-caliber Hi-Point handgun at Iarrusso and fired at close range into the officer’s chest. Mata also shot Abreu in the leg before the officer returned fire, shooting Mata in the ankle, authorities said.
From his hospital bed, hours after the shooting, Mata continued to insist that he had no intention of shooting the NYPD officers — a claim that, at least according to police leaders, contradicts the body camera footage.
“When the police stopped me I was scared so I ran away,” Mata said in a statement read by the prosecutor.
“I stopped, pulled out my gun to show the officer, and it fired one shot. That’s when the officer shot me. I didn’t pull the trigger. The gun fired one shot.”
Prosecutors said Mata, who said he was a DoorDash delivery driver, said a friend gave him the gun in his bag after work and asked him to keep it.
Mata’s lawyers, an admitted gang member, had no other say during the hearing besides pleading not guilty and asking that Mata, who was brought into court in a wheelchair with a bandage on his right leg and a hospital tag on his wrist, be taken into protective custody.
Judge Kenneth C. Holder granted Mata’s request and ordered him held without bail.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz told The Post that Mata’s protective custody was necessary because of comments he made against the bloodthirsty Tren de Aragua gang.
“We want to make sure he is brought to justice,” she said, “and held accountable for the two counts of attempted murder of officers.”
