Four migrant men charged with felonies in an attack on two New York City Police Department officers Saturday outside a migrant shelter are en route to a California town near Mexico after they were released from custody and given bus tickets by a faith-based charity, a senior law enforcement official said.
The four men were among at least seven people arrested in the incident. They were staying in a New York City shelter, used false names with the charity, the source told CNN. It was not immediately clear who the four are among the group arrested this week in connection with the weekend incident.
Investigators say even though the defendants allegedly used false names with the charity and could be going to Mexico by way of Calexico, California, “we have no legal authority to chase them or attempt to stop them” because the Manhattan district attorney did not request bail and the defendants were released on their own recognizance, the law enforcement source said.
“We have to assume they intend to return to court, which, given the circumstances around their departure, seems unlikely,” the source added.
The case follows a surge in migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border and, as a knock-on effect, in far-off major US cities – where many have gone on their own or on buses hired by Texas. Some 67,000 migrants are under New York City’s care, among more than 173,900 who’ve arrived in the city since spring 2022, a City Hall spokesperson told CNN on Thursday.
“The overwhelming number of immigrants, migrants, asylum-seekers, they want to be here and do what’s right. Those violent ones, we need to immediately have them removed from our city,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams told La Mega 97.9 FM on Thursday.
The attack outside the shelter “was disgusting, and they should be held accountable,” the Democrat added, saying he thinks they should not have been released from custody while noting the city does not have the authority to deport people.
Authorities Saturday arrested Yorman Reveron, 24, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, and Wilson Juarez, 21, each charged with second-degree assault and second-degree obstructing governmental administration, according to a criminal complaint. Jhoan Boada, 22, was arrested Monday and charged with the same two counts, a complaint states.
Yohenry Brito, 24, was arrested Wednesday and arraigned Thursday on two counts of second-degree assault and one count of second-degree obstructing governmental administration, the Manhattan district attorney’s office told CNN. He also faces robbery and felony assault charges, the district attorney said. A 21-year-old arrested Wednesday on suspicion of robbery and felony assault was released and not charged, it said.