Illegal immigrant alleged to have fired at two NYPD policemen had his immigration case dismissed by a judge the previous month, according to ICE.
Young man named Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, aged 19, from Venezuela, shot two police officers after they attempted to stop him for riding a scooter in the wrong direction in Queens, the cops reported. Both officers were later discharged from the hospital following the incident.
This incident was reported to take place in July last year, when Castro-Mata clandestinely entered the US, passing through Eagle Pass in Texas. An ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) spokesperson for the NY (New York) Enforcement and Removal Operations branch confirmed to CNN that he was apprehended then. The spokesperson added that Castro-Mata was let off and asked to report to immigration court to discuss his case. However, his case was eventually dismissed in the court on May 6th.
ICE made no mention as to why the dismissal of Castro-Mata's case occurred.
New York Police Department continues to keep Castro-Mata in their custody, and the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations have now lodged an immigration detainer against him.
Immigration detainers are commonly handed out to non-citizens who find themselves in trouble with the law and are held in the custody of local or state authorities.
Monday saw Castro-Mata's leg being hit during a shoot-out with the police, with him expected to make a quick recovery, as per Joseph Kenny, the NYPD's chief of detectives.
Queens Police Commissioner Edward Caban explained that the shooting was part of a string of robberies involving suspects on mopeds and scooters. Castro-Mata, an undocumented migrant residing at a converted hotel in Queens used as a migrant shelter, was inadvertently involved in these thefts.
Castro-Mata remained unrepresented by a lawyer on Monday, when the Queens District Attorney's office announced he as yet had no legal defence, and would be appointed one for his upcoming court session, unless he obtained one of his own choosing.
At the scene of the offence, officers spotted Castro-Mata driving a moped the wrong way down a road. They moved in to make a stop, but he sped off, prompting a high-speed chase which stretched to several city blocks.
During this, Castro-Mata began firing at the officers. The officers returned the volley, wounding one officer in the leg and the other in his bulletproof vest. Castro-Mata has never been arrested in New York City and is being probed in relation to several robberies in Queens. At the news conference, Kenny announced Castro-Mata was also using an unregistered form of motorbike.
According to Kenny, similar bikes and scooters are being used in the commission of crimes across the city. These offenses include shootings, robberies, and theft of phones.
Police have identified at least 80 separate patterns of theft occurring across NYC, each comprising of multiple incidents where the culprits had been riding scooters or motorcycles.
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The New York Police Department is currently keeping Castro-Mata in their custody due to the immigration detainer lodged against him by ICE. Despite his immigration case being dismissed in May, US authorities are still looking to deport him.
Furthermore, Castro-Mata, who is an undocumented migrant, was involved in a series of robberies in Queens, contributing to the growing concerns about the use of unregistered motorbikes and scooters in committing crimes in the city.
