U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Thursday the arrest of a group of “unlawfully present noncitizens” who allegedly robbed a New York City Target store and injured multiple police officers.
Venezuelan nationals Michael Jose Sanchez Mayo, 31; Henry Omar Zambrano Zapata, 19; and Yusneibi Yohana Machado Avila, 23; as well as Colombian national Jaramillio Balanta, 22, were arrested on Wednesday for their connection to the April 2 robbery and assault.
According to ICE, the individuals involved were charged by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) with “crimes of robbery; assault with intent to cause injury to an officer, fireman, EMT, nurse or crossing guard; resisting arrest; criminal possession of stolen property; and obstructing governmental administration.” They were initially arrested by police on the day of their purported crimes but subsequently released by a judge without bail.
A fifth individual, Venezuelan national Brayan Freites-Macias, 21, was still in custody after being arrested on April 2. ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the New York Department of Corrections’ Rikers Island Custody Management Unit, blocking the release of Freites-Macias.
Each of Wednesday’s four arrests was made “without incident,” and the suspects remain in custody pending removal proceedings.
Kenneth Genalo, director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City Field Office, said the agency will continue to “utilize all of its resources to protect our residents from those who come to the United States and become a threat to public safety.”
“Once again, I commend our officers for their dedication to ensuring that criminal noncitizens who are released from local custody are apprehended before they can further harm anyone in our communities,” he said.
The arrests stem from an incident in which the suspects allegedly shoplifted $82 worth of merchandise from a Target in Manhattan, as reported by the New York Post. The suspects allegedly took a backpack off a mannequin in the store and stuffed it with merchandise.
An arrest complaint states that officers attempted to apprehend the suspects when Freites-Macias purportedly pushed an officer and told an accomplice to escape from the scene, according to Fox News.
Avila then allegedly stepped in front of an officer and struck him in the head with her hand, leading the arrest effort to spill into the street outside of the store.
As officers were attempting to arrest those involved with the shoplifting, someone allegedly began throwing rocks at the officers involved but did not make contact. The suspected rock thrower has not been apprehended or identified at this point, per Fox News.
One officer was taken to the hospital with swelling and pain in his left arm. He was treated and later released by doctors, per the New York Post.
Incidents and releases similar to these have become more common in New York City in recent months, prompting Mayor Eric Adams to call for the city to adjust its laws and grant ICE more power to detain unlawful migrants charged with crimes.
“If you commit a felony, a violent act, we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported,” he explained, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, property crimes have been on the rise amid a longstanding shortage of nearly 1,000 police officers. Shoplifting, in particular, has been a problem in parts of northern Dallas, as previously reported by DX.
