STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — One of the migrants allegedly involved in an assault on two members of the NYPD in Times Square this past January has taken a plea deal.
Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Criminal Court Monday to assault in the second degree, a class D felony, and was sentenced to 364 days in jail, according to a spokesman for the Manhattan D.A.’s office.
“The sentence should absolutely be longer, but we’re glad that this individual is pleading guilty to a felony and will continue serving time for this brazen attack on our brothers,” Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement. “However, the important test will come once his sentence is up. He needs to be deported immediately upon release, without setting another foot on our city streets. And there are several other defendants who had an even bigger role in this vicious attack whose cases are still pending. We will be watching to make sure they face justice.”
According to police, officers attempted to disperse a disorderly group in Manhattan’s Times Square on Saturday, Jan. 27, at around 10 p.m. when a physical altercation started with multiple individuals punching and kicking the officers when they tried to take a member of the group into custody.
Along with Izquiel, four individuals — Yorman Reveron, 24; Wilson Juarez, 21; Kevin Servita Arocha, 19; and Jhoan Bhoada, 22, were arrested in relation to the incident.
The attack has been widely identified as connected to the city’s ongoing migrant crisis, with officials across the state lamenting the alleged attackers’ release without bail. Some, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) have called for the perpetrators to be deported.
“Republicans, Democrats and Independents should, at the very least, be able to agree that migrants who assault our police or commit crimes in our country should be deported immediately and have any future immigration application denied,’' the congresswoman said.
“I mean, if someone commits a crime against a police officer in the state of New York and they’re not here legally, it’s definitely worth checking into,” she said.