Several of the illegal immigrants suspected in a notorious attack on two New York City cops are believed to have fled to the sanctuary state of California.
The New York Post reported Thursday that police believe that four of the suspects, who were freed without bail under New York’s reformed criminal-justice system, have fled the city.
Citing “law enforcement sources,” the Post reported that the group is thought to “have hopped on a bus bound for California on Wednesday after giving phony names to a church-affiliated nonprofit group that helps migrants get rides out of the city.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that the suspects should be deported.
“Get them all and send them back,” she said. “You don’t touch our police officers. You don’t touch anyone.”
California has declared itself a sanctuary for illegal immigrants and sharply limits cooperation with immigration authorities, though an extradition request in a criminal case from another state might be handled differently.
Al Baker, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, told the Post that “the Court is not aware of the defendants’ whereabouts but they are obligated to return to Court on their scheduled dates” of Feb. 6.
The four have been charged with assault on a police officer and obstruction in a shocking, caught-on-video attack Saturday near Times Square.
Darwin Andres Gomez, 19, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Wilson Juarez, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24, were released without bail by a Manhattan judge, although supervised release before of two other open criminal cases, both involving robbery attempts on retail stores — Macy’s and Nordstrom — that both escalated into assaults