Five migrants who police say were part of a mob that viciously attacked two NYPD police officers in Times Square two weeks ago are now in custody, while another migrant who was being held has posted bail and has been released.
A Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokesperson tells Fox News that three suspects were taken into custody in the Bronx Tuesday. The trio was nabbed inside an apartment and included Wilson Juarez, 21, and Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, both of whom were previously arrested in the case.
The DA’s officer says Juarez and Arocha are currently in ICE custody and are due back in court on Friday.
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Prosecutors say the pair had not fled the state on a bus, contrary to reports. The third suspect in yesterday’s arrest was not named.
Darwin Gomez-Izquiel, 19, who was also wanted in relation to the attack, is now back in custody after he was arrested by police Wednesday morning on charges of robbery and petit larceny. Gomez-Izquiel and three other suspects – who still remain at large – are accused of making off with about $600 worth of assorted clothing they stole from the Macy’s department store in the Queens Center Mall, the NYPD said.
The Manhattan DA’s office said a fifth suspect was also in custody, but his name has not been released.
“Five of the individuals charged in this incident are currently in law enforcement custody and our investigation with the NYPD remains ongoing,” a spokesperson for the Manhattan DA said.
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Juarez is now believed to have watched the brawl from a distance without participating. He has since been charged with tampering with physical evidence, prosecutors said, because he allegedly traded his jacket with a man who fled police following the confrontation.
Arocha also did not physically touch either of the officers, but he allegedly kicked a police radio – making him an “accessory” to the assault, according to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
Meanwhile, Yohenry Brito, 19, who had been the only migrant being held without bail in relation to the attack posted $15,000 bail and has been released, sources tell Fox News.
The Jan. 27 caught-on-camera attack on a police lieutenant and officer sparked widespread condemnation and it was followed by one of the suspects, Jhoan Boada, 22, flipping two middle fingers at reporters’ cameras on Feb. 1 after he was released from police custody.
Bragg faced massive backlash for leaving five of the initial suspects – including Boada – free without bail.
Police are still looking for three additional suspects to speak with based on an investigation and review of body-camera footage.
“We have to ensure we identify and charge those individuals who actually committed criminal acts in this matter,” Bragg said last week. “The only thing worse than failing to bring perpetrators to justice would be to ensnare innocent people in the criminal justice system.”
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
