Wanted: Two Men for Stabbing and Robbery in NYC

Authorities are searching for two men from the Dominican Republic connected to the stabbing and attempted robbery of an off-duty NYPD detective in New York City last Friday. These individuals were previously apprehended and released at the Arizona border during the Biden administration, as reported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Bill Melugin from Fox News highlighted this situation, citing sources from DHS. The suspects are said to be fugitives with extensive criminal records. While the NYPD hasn’t officially released their names, Fox identified them as 24-year-old Sneider Mejia Bautista and 25-year-old Dangelo Rafael Jean Caraballo.

It’s noted that both men have been arrested multiple times in New York yet keep finding their way back to the streets.

Mejia Bautista crossed the border near San Luis, Arizona, in December 2022 along with his family, who were also granted release into the U.S. They have been under deportation orders since May. This year, Mejia Bautista had two arrests, one in January for possession of stolen property and another in October for weapon possession. Following the weapon-related arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested local authorities to hold him for pickup, but this request was disregarded, and he was released.

A detention request asks local law enforcement to hold an individual until federal agents can take over custody, but New York’s sanctuary policies generally mean these requests are not honored.

Meanwhile, Jean Caraballo made his crossing into the U.S. at the same border in February 2023 and was allowed to go with a scheduled court date. Since then, he has accumulated five arrests for various offenses, including reckless driving, possession of burglar’s tools, and drug charges, with the most recent involving criminal menacing with a weapon.

ICE hasn’t been able to file any detainers for him as he was released so quickly each time that federal officials weren’t even aware of his arrests until he was already gone.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that both men were released under the Biden administration, followed by further releases from local officials who did not cooperate with ICE.

“Before you put them back on the streets, let us deport them,” Mullin commented recently.

This incident falls closely behind another occurrence where a Dominican national, also released by Biden administration policies, shot an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer in the face during a robbery in a Manhattan park. Additionally, it comes in the wake of Operation Rotten Apple, a recent ICE operation that resulted in over 2,100 arrests across New York after the state cut cooperation agreements with federal immigration authorities.

As it stands, both suspects remain at large.