A 19-year-old man accused of shooting and wounding two NYPD officers from Long Island earlier this month pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday to two counts of first-degree attempted murder and other charges.
Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, who was wounded by police during a police encounter, appeared in Queens State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens in a wheelchair. He is also charged with two counts of second-degree assault, as well as criminal possession of a weapon. Mata faces 40 years to life in prison if convicted on the top charges.
Judge Kenneth Holder ordered Mata held without bail during the hearing, which was attended by dozens of NYPD officers in uniform.
The defendant, who is from Venezuela, told investigators that officers in his native country were often shot by criminals, prosecutors revealed during Mata's arraignment.
The targeting of police in the South American country was one of several statements made by Mata to NYPD officers following his arrest for the June 3 shootings of Officers Richard Yarusso and Chris Abreu during what had started as a routine traffic stop in Elmhurst, Queens.
The two officers were part of a traffic enforcement operation on Ditmars Boulevard when they spotted Mata driving an unlicensed motor scooter, driving the wrong way down a one-way street, without a helmet and then driving on a sidewalk, officials said.
When approached by the officers, Mata ditched the scooter, fled on foot. Abreu and Yarusso, both 26, eventually stopped the suspect and he allegedly shot at them with a handgun that was in a bag across his chest, officials said.
Abreu, who lives in Nassau County, was struck by one round which hit him in the leg while Yarusso, who lives in Suffolk County, was hit by a round which struck his protective vest. Both officers were treated and released from hospital.
During Mata’s arraignment before Holder, Queens Assistant District Attorney Lauren D. Reilly recited a number of statements the defendant made to police that were either captured on body cameras or transcribed by officers.
“Venezuelan police officers are shot often in my country,” Mata said, according to Reilly.
Police said Mata entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 through Eagle Pass, Texas.
Prosecutors also said that Mata stated to officers that he was living in a shelter on Ditmars Boulevard and that members of the Tren de Aragua gang smuggled weapons into the facility in food deliveries, which weren’t scanned.
Mata also told police that he had been given the .380-caliber handgun by another gang member to hold and indicated the gun discharged accidentally one time, according to Reilly. Three deformed .380-caliber bullets were found by police at the crime scene.
“Anyone who attacks a police officer needs to be prosecuted, sentenced and then deported, ” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said outside the courtroom.
Asked about Abreu and Yarusso, Hendry said both officers have a long road to recover but were in good spirits.
Holder scheduled Mata’s next court appearance for September 16. The defense asked that Mata been held in protective custody in Bellevue Hospital, where he is currently housed.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said outside the courtroom that officials were looking into claims by Mata that gang members smuggled weapons into shelter through food deliveries.