'This puts our cops in danger,' NYPD brass says after Bronx judges release gun-wielding migrant squatters (2024)

New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said the recidivism of suspects facing charges who are let go by lenient judges, against the backdrop of the state's lax bail laws, puts rank-and-file officers in grave danger.

Chell spoke Thursday with Fox News' "The Story" about the case of eight migrants who were found squatting in an apartment in the Bronx that was allegedly flush with guns, extended clips, ketamine and housed a child — wherein six of the eight suspects were allowed to walk from their arraignments.

One of the suspects, Hector Desousa-Villalta, had reportedly been facing attempted murder charges in neighboring Yonkers, N.Y., last year until the alleged victim declined to cooperate with authorities.

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"I don't know his thought process, you'd have to read the arraignment minutes," Chell said of Bronx Judge Eugene Bowen, who released Villalta, Yoessy Pino Castillo and Jefferson Abreau on personal recognizance, according to the New York Post.

In contrast, Chell said, Bronx County Democratic District Attorney Darcel Clark appeared to understand the gravity of the situation and requested Bowen set bail for each accused offender — reportedly $150,000 in the case of Desousa-Villalta.

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"She knew how important this was, and for whatever reason, the judge let them walk out the door," Chell added. "[W]hen people see this, they say, 'What's going on? This is not safe.'"

Another Bronx jurist, Judge Laurence Busching, released suspects Yojairo Martinez, Johan Silva and Yerbin Lozado-Munoz, according to the New York Post, which cited court documents.

In comments to the Post on the apparent discrepancy in bail orders, New York State Office of Court Administration spokesman Al Baker said the agency does not comment on bail decisions, "except to say in cases like these in New York, judges have discretion in making bail decisions in accordance with the law and based solely on an individualized assessmentof a defendant’s risk of flight."

When asked by anchor Martha MacCallum if authorities had any evidence the suspects are tied to the Venezuelan gangs making headlines in recent months, Chell replied, "Not that I'm aware of right now."

Returning to the lack of bail for three-quarters of the suspects, Chell reiterated the magnitude of the overall trend in that direction in the city.

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"This puts our cops in danger. We shouldn't be dealing with this a second time. We've already dealt with [the criminality] once by great work and now some great work again, but it also could be the opposite where we get hurt and the community gets hurt," he said, as MacCallum and Chell referenced the recent murder of Ofc. Jonathan Diller. Diller has since been posthumously promoted to detective.

"When people walk out of jail or walk out at least on their own recognizance or supervised release, the community suffers also," Chell said.

The chief, who oversees all of the city's precincts, said his officers are mourning Diller while continuing to face the dangers of their job.

"They go to this house in the Bronx. Someone calls 911 for a person with a gun — it's one sergeant and two cops. As soon as they get there, they see the person in the alley with the gun… they chase him into the basem*nt of a private home, into a back bedroom, and they grab them quickly and we secure the gun," Chell said in recounting the Bronx incident.

"But the second person they engage is in the hallway, and he's got a gun under his armpit, and he turns away, and from the body-worn camera, he reaches for the gun… there's two more guns, a ghost gun, there's ketamine, there's a child — very dangerous situation."

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He noted Desousa-Villalta's prior case in Yonkers, and said another suspect was a "walking gun indictment" who should not have been out of jail.

"We shouldn't be here dealing with this, and yet we do — very dangerous — and at the end of the day, six out of eight walked out of jail on supervised release, which we don't even know what that is really… and the person with the Yonkers charge, he also walked out," Chell said.

He compared the case to that of Diller's, where both suspects in the car during the traffic stop — Guy Rivera and Lindy Jones — were convicted felons, with one having a prior gun charge.

"He should not have been there," Chell said. "Just to go back to that day quickly, when [Diller] was shot, he still fought for that gun and got it out of there and saved lives, and it's just tremendous."

While the public perceives an increase in crime in New York City, Chell said Mayor Eric Adams was correct in saying recently that statistically it has declined.

Chell said the Democrat, who is also a former Brooklyn police officer, is doing a "phenomenal job" and is "steadfast [and] committed" to the NYPD.