![image](https://i0.wp.com/alancmoore.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/US-NEWS-NYPD-MIGRANT-SHOOTING-NY-1-scaled-e1719578193476.jpg?w=801&ssl=1)
Although he claimed he did n’t mean to open fire, a migrant accused of shooting and injuring two NYPD officers in Queens claimed it was” common practice” back home in Venezuela.
Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, who allegedly shot the soldiers after being found zipping the wrong way down a one-way Queens Street on a bike up on June 3, admitted to being a part of the violent Cuban group Tren de Aragua.
He claims his gun just “went off” when Officers Richard Yarusso and Christopher Abreu attempted to stop him on 82nd Street near 23rd Avenue in East Elmhurst, according to prosecutors. He claimed it was n’t a big deal for gang members and police in his native country to exchange shots.
” My companion Jose may have given me a backpack with a firearm in it and asked me to keep it for him”, the 20- yr- ancient Castro Mata, a delivery man for Door Dash, told investigators. I was aware that a weapon was inside the case. When the officers stopped me, I ran because I was scared. The large went off when I stopped and took out the weapon to show the agent.
” I did not take the trigger”, he added. When my companion gave it to me, the gun was available. The cannon went off again”.
Castro Mata was arraigned on a 20-count accusation of attempted murder and other charges on Wednesday after his statements were recounted in Queens Supreme Criminal Court. If found guilty, he may spend the next 80 years in prison.
At the conclusion of the case, Judge Kenneth Holder gave the warrant for Castro Mata to be held without parole. More than 100 officers sat in the museum as the claims were read, all glaring at Castro Mata, who sat silently in a chair.
When police approached Castro Mata, the immigrant grabbed the gun from a pouch bag and accidentally shot one officer in the lower right thigh and the other in the lower right thigh, according to Queens Assistant District Attorney Lauren Reilly.
The soldiers fired back, striking Castro Mata in the knee. According to Reilly, he merely dropped the gun after being hurt.
Castro Mata claimed that he had entered the country through Eagle Pass, Texas, when he was being interrogated at the doctor. According to him, Tren de Aragua recruited him to commit robberies while he was residing in a house in Queens.
” It’s common practice for Tren de Aragua group members to take at officers because Cuban police officials shoot at crew members for small infractions”, Castro Mata told NYPD prosecutors, according to prosecutors. In my native country, Venezuelan police officers are frequently shot because they believe there is a chance of getting away from the situation.
According to him, gang members get tattoos of sports stars and the number 23 to show their loyalty to the gang. Tren de Aragua is the , largest criminal organization in Venezuela, with over 5, 000 members. Members have been linked to human trafficking, extortion, drug crimes and murder.
” Tren de Aragua members smuggle firearms into city shelters inside food delivery packages”, Castro Mato told authorities. ” That way they do n’t have to go through the metal detector”.
When they spotted Castro Mata, officers Yarusso and Abreu were looking into a robbery pattern involving crooks on scooters and mopeds, according to the prosecution.
At the courthouse on Wednesday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said,” These police officers were just doing a traffic stop. “( Castro Mata ) was driving up the wrong way on a one- way street. He did not have a helmet. One of the risks of unregistered scooters is that he would not be able to be found if he had not been caught.
Every New Yorker should be offended by an attempt on the lives of two police officers by simply stopping for a traffic stop, Katz said.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry described Castro Mata as” a dangerous person ( who ) was n’t afraid to shoot at New York City police officers because he thought he was going to get away with it” in a statement released outside of court.
” Not in this country”, Hendry added. We require that anyone who attacks a police officer be immediately charged and deported.
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