Immigrant from Venezuela Arrested Six Times in New York City on 14 Different Charges
In the midst of the immigration crisis facing New York, a migrant who arrived in the city about two months ago from Venezuela randomly attacked five people, including two police officers, and has been arrested six times on 14 different charges, according to authorities.
Daniel Hernandez Martinez, 29, arrived in the Big Apple on June 27 and allegedly committed his first crime the next day, as reported by The New York Post.
“He’s been wreaking havoc,” said a veteran police officer of New York when referring to the migrant.
“This is not an isolated incident. These immigrants get arrested quite often here and we really don’t know who they are. They don’t really have identification. They’re not being investigated properly, but some of them are committing some of the most violent crimes here,” said the officer with over twenty years of experience on the job.
According to the New York outlet, among the crimes attributed to Hernandez Martinez began at a Costco at 976 Third Ave. in Brooklyn, where he allegedly stole a bottle of Nutella, slippers, tennis shoes, hats, Gillette razor blades, and Dove bathroom gel.
On July 6, he allegedly attempted to steal a “tool kit” from a Duane Reade store on Columbus Circle in Manhattan.
The criminal activities of which the migrant is accused continued the following day when he allegedly assaulted a security guard at another Duane Reade who tried to stop him from stealing a bag of chips and toothpaste.
Court documents indicate that the Venezuelan “he pulled out a large knife and advanced on an undercover officer” while shouting unintelligibly.
Hernandez Martinez was charged with menacing on that occasion but was once again released on his own recognizance because the charge was ineligible for bail, The Post reported.
Hernandez Martinez is accused of more than just simple crimes. Three weeks after these incidents, the Venezuelan attacked a 52-year-old man passing in front of the Row Hotel in Times Square, an area that serves as a refuge for migrants, according to the authorities.
The victim, a freelance journalist identified as Jeffrey Bradac, said he was at the scene to document the influx of immigrants and had interviewed Hernandez Martinez moments before the attack, leaving him puzzled as to the reason for the assault.
“He hit me with the tire of the bicycle, and I called the police,” Bradac said. “Then he jumped into the dumpster, and a very fit police officer ran after him, but the guy got away.”
A week later, the Venezuelan was arrested because Bradac, who had filed a criminal complaint, saw him in front of the hotel and notified the patrolling police officers.
On August 21, Hernandez Martinez violently attacked a woman in midtown. He “grabbed a stranger by her hair, dragged her to the ground, and kicked her”, and smashed her phone, according to the police.
For this case, he was charged with threat, assault, criminal conduct, and possession of weapons. He was placed on supervised release, court records show.
Three days later, he was arrested once more, this time for threatening with a weapon and harassment after confronting a stranger with a chain in his hands in front of 701 Eighth Avenue, the police said. He was again released without bail.
On August 28, the police accused him of criminal theft, criminal conduct, and possession of stolen property for using a metal tube to break locks and steal bicycles in Times Square.
While at Beth Israel Hospital for medical attention, Hernandez Martinez assaulted a police officer who was trying to change his handcuffs. He kicked the officer twice in the back and stomped on their foot. He was accused of assaulting a police officer, as the records show.
Daniel Hernandez Martinez “has been arrested five times in less than two months for charges and damages almost every time”, wrote a prosecutor in a request for bail against the migrant. The prosecutor also pointed out that Hernandez has a sixth arrest in Brooklyn for a minor theft, a case that is still open and has three outstanding arrest warrants as he has not appeared in court.
Prosecutors requested a $10,000 bail for the police assault case, but the judge set it at $5,000 and sent Hernandez Martinez to Rikers Island prison.