Seven Migrants Involved in Assault on Cops in Times Sq. Now Being Held on Rikers Is.

Seven migrant suspects who are accused of being involved in the Times Square attack on two NYPD officers on Jan. 27 are back in custody. This time bail has been set for five of the suspects, but they were apparently unable to post it. Two others are being held without bail. Two of the suspects were identified as members of “Tren de Aragua,” a powerful Venezuelan gang.

Initially, four of the suspects were arrested then freed on their own recognizance, while a fifth suspect arrested a day later was forced to post bail and when he could not initially post the bail was sent to Rikers Island.

The lack of a bail requirement initially triggered a strong backlash directed against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg by police and some politicians.

Now all seven are on Rikers Island after appearing at their arraignments in the Manhattan Criminal Court in recent days, according to the Manhattan DA.

All pleaded not guilty at their arraignments. The five suspects who were required to post bail at the hearing in New York Supreme Court on Feb. 16 include: Wilson Juarez, Kelvin Servita Arocha, Yohenry Brito, Yorman Reveron and Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel. Two other migrant suspects Ulises Bohorquez, who was originally sent directly to Rikers Island after the attack before a Bay Ridge Church bailed him out for $15,000, is now back in custody as is another suspect Yarwin Madris.

The seven migrant suspects accused of being involved in the Times Square attack were identified in a caught-on-video melee where migrants were seen kicking and punching two NYPD officers as they tried to take one migrant into custody on Jan. 27.

Cops suffered bruising and lacerations after being hit and kicked by the migrants in the melee but did not seek medical attention, prosecutors said. Police after receiving complaints from store owners on the evening of the original incident were trying to move the migrants from congregating in front of a shelter at 220 Seventh Ave. and ended up getting in a scuffle with one of the migrants, identified as Yohenry Brito. As cops first pushed him against a wall and then attempted to handcuff him, other migrants jumped to his defense and tried to free him from the two officers.

“The seven defendants indicted have now appeared in court, and because of our thorough investigation we can present our case and hold them fully accountable for their actions,” said DA Bragg on Feb. 16.

According to early reports of Feb.1, police thought the original group of suspects who were also part of the five arraigned the week of Feb. 12, fled to California by bus after the attack using fake names to get bus tickets.

Technically, the original suspects would be free to travel provided they returned at the time of their next court appearance. One of the suspects freed on his own recognizance, Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel was subsequently arrested for shoplifting in the Queens Center Mall in an incident in which a group of migrants are also accused of assaulting a security guard who tried to stop them. In an unrelated case, Yorman Reveron was arrested for shop lifting from Macy’s in Herald Square on the week of Feb. 12.

The five suspects are given bail amounts ranging from $1 for one suspect who was deemed to have committed a minor offense to $100,000 for second-degree assault that most of the suspects faced after the Jan. 27 incident. Police believe as many as 14 suspects were involved in the incident but have not been able to determine the identities of everyone captured in the video.

The eighth migrant accused of being involved in the Times Square attack, Jhoan Bhoada, has yet to be arraigned.

A 72-hour surety hearing will occur if bails for the five migrants are posted. They are due back in court on April 2.

“Our investigation into the incident with the NYPD remains ongoing and we are working with our law enforcement partners to apprehend the remaining individuals involved,” Bragg said.