A hearing for an illegal Venezuelan immigrant charged with shooting two New York City police officers revealed that gang members routinely smuggle guns into shelters for illegal immigrants.
During an arraignment on a 20-count indictment against Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, prosecutors shared tapes made while he was in a hospital recovering from injuries after his struggle with police during his June 3 arrest.
In the recordings, Mata, 19, said he was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang and that he worked for DoorDash delivering food to the shelters, with weapons stashed inside.
“Tren de Aragua members are smuggling firearms into city shelters in food delivery packages – that way they don’t have to go through the metal detectors,” the recordings said, according to the New York Post.
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During his arraignment, Mata was slapped with two counts of attempted murder in the first and second degrees, according to a news release from the Queens (NY) DA’s office.
On June 3, Officers Christopher Abreu and Richard Yarusso sought to detain Mata for driving the wrong way on a one-way street and not wearing a helmet while on an unregistered motorcycle.
Mata ran away, the release said. After police sought to put him in handcuffs, Mata is alleged to have pulled a gun from a bag he was carrying and shot Yarusso in the lower chest “at point blank range.”. Yarusso’s protective vest stopped the bullet.
A second shot hit Abreu in the upper right thigh.
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Abreu then fired at Mata, hitting him near his ankle. Officers were then able to handcuff Mata.
“An attempt on the lives of two police officers simply making a traffic stop should offend every New Yorker,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
In addition to the four attempted murder charges against him, Mata was charged with two counts of attempted assault in the first degree; two counts of attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of assault in the second degree; resisting arrest; obstructing governmental administration in the second degree; reckless driving; driving a vehicle the wrong way on a one way roadway; operating or riding upon a motorcycle without a helmet; and operating or driving a motorcycle without proper license plates.
Police also recovered a loaded .380-caliber handgun and three.380-caliber shell casings from the scene as well as four 9 mm casings.
Mata entered a plea of not guilty, saying the gun was not his and that it went off accidentally, according to CBS.
During the hearing, a prosecutor read a statement Mata made to police that said, “I knew there was a gun in the bag. When the cops stopped me, I ran because I was scared.”
In the hearing, it was also revealed that Mata said it was normal for Tren de Aragua members to shoot at police because in Venezuela, police shoot at gang members for small offenses.
NYPD officers showed up en masse for the hearing.
“Anyone who attacks a police officer needs to be prosecuted, sentenced and then deported,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said.
