Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) announced new charges Thursday against seven undocumented immigrants accused of violently attacking a New York City police officer last month. new york post report.
Blaze News previously reported that a large group of men were captured on surveillance video kicking and punching two NYPD officers outside an immigrant shelter on January 27.
At a press conference Thursday, the notoriously soft-on-crime prosecutor said he was “sickened” and “outraged” by the horrific crimes committed by immigrant groups. He criticized the attack as “despicable” and “heinous”.
Mr Bragg said three of the suspects, including 19-year-old Yoherny Brito, 19-year-old Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel and 24-year-old Yeoman Rebellon, were arrested in class D. He was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, a felony. Another suspect, 19-year-old Kelvin Servita Arrocha, was charged with two counts of assault for allegedly kicking New York City police equipment. Wilson Juarez, 21, was charged with tampering with physical evidence after he allegedly threw a jacket in an attempt to disguise himself as one of the assailants. Juarez was charged with a Class E felony.
Brito is the only suspect currently in custody. Three more suspects are still at large, Bragg said.
The prosecutor’s office was heavily criticized by critics after several suspects were arrested and then quickly released without bail. Some of them are believed to have fled the city and are heading to California. Blaze News earlier reported that several illegal immigrants were arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday.
Kenneth Gennaro, head of ICE’s New York field office, criticized New York City’s “sanctuary” policy, which thwarts the agency’s efforts to detain suspects.
“We want to help. The problem is that city policy and state law prevent cooperation between the NYPD and ICE,” Henaro explained. “Hundreds of people are arrested every week in the city, and we cannot determine who is the most violent.”
Mr. Bragg continued to defend his decision to release violent criminal suspects onto the streets of New York City. The DA said the muddled surveillance footage made it difficult for investigators to determine and identify who did what during the assault.
“The only thing worse than not bringing perpetrators to justice is leaving innocent people trapped in the criminal justice system,” he said.
Republican lawmakers in New York are calling on Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to fire Bragg for allowing the suspect to be released and endangering innocent lives. In a letter to the governor Tuesday, lawmakers criticized Bragg’s handling of the incident as “unconscionable” and the “last straw.”
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