A suspected member of a Venezuelan gang who was arrested and released after he was allegedly found squatting in a New York City home filled with drugs and firearms, admitted to serving prison time in his home country when he was taken into custody again this week, federal immigration authorities said.
Yerbin Benjamin Lozada Munoz was arrested Friday during a traffic stop in Nassau County, which honored an immigration detainer request made by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE).
Nassau County isn’t a sanctuary jurisdiction, meaning local law enforcement agencies are not prohibited from cooperating with immigration authorities, unlike New York City.
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Munoz allegedly admitted to being a member of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang, which has been implicated in a number of crimes by its members that have come to the United States.
He told ICE agents that he had been convicted of robbery and resisting arrest in Venezuela and served 14 months in prison.
Munoz was initially arrested on March 27 with several other Venezuelans who were allegedly squatting in a Bronx home where authorities found drugs and guns. He faces multiple charges, including possession of weapons, drugs and ammunition. He was released pending trial.
One of the other suspects arrested, Hector De Sousa Villalta, also faces charges and is additionally charged with attempted murder in connection with a separate incident in nearby Yonkers, New York.
Authorities said Munoz illegally entered the U.S. sometime around Oct. 3, 2022, and was arrested near Eagle Pass, Texas. He was released on a condition of parole because of overcrowding at an ICE detention facility in El Paso.
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He was told to report to the nearest ICE Enforcement Removal Operations field office within 60 days, but failed to do so, violating the conditions of the parole, ICE said.
On April 1, Nassau County police arrested Munoz for fourth-degree grand larceny greater than $1,000. That same day, ICE lodged a detainer request, and he was arrested upon his release from the Nassau County jail.
Several of the other alleged squatters that occupied the NYC home — Villalta, Yoessy Pino Castillo and Yojairo Armando Martinez — are in ICE custody pending deportation proceedings.
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Javier Jose Albornoz Marchan and Miguel Gregerio Barrio remain in custody in New York City.
Immigration detainers have been lodged in their cases. Johan Jose Cardenas Silva, who was picked up by ICE, remains in the Nassau County Jail and is the subject of a detainer hold.
The last suspect, Jefferson Orlando Abreu, remains on the loose.
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