By Antonio Planas -
NBC News
A grand jury has indicted seven people linked to an attack last month against two police officers in New York's Times Square that was caught on video, Manhattan's top prosecutor announced Thursday.
Five of the defendants, whose names were released, face felony charges.
Four of them face charges of second-degree assault, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at an afternoon news conference.
The names of two defendants were not released because they have not been arrested, Bragg said.
The assault against two police officers in Times Square on January 27, 2024.NYPD Crime Stoppers
"This assault [...] sickened and outraged me," Bragg said.
"As a lifelong New Yorker, I do not condone assaults on police officers, and I certainly do not condone it as the District Attorney of Manhattan."
The altercations occurred on the night of January 27, when police
were trying to disperse a crowd
when a fight broke out.
The attacked officers suffered minor injuries, authorities indicated.
The five suspects who were previously arrested and charged are Yormán Reverón, 24 years old;
Darwin Andrés Gómez-Izquiel (19);
Kelvin Servita Arocha (19);
Wilson Juárez (21), and Yohenry Brito (24).
[Immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, linked to cell phone thefts in New York are arrested]
Bragg called the investigation by prosecutors and police "meticulous," and detailed some of the defendants' alleged crimes.
Gómez-Izquiel allegedly grabbed one officer and kicked another, and Reverón allegedly grabbed and knocked two police officers to the ground.
Both men are charged with two counts of second-degree assault and obstruction of public administration, Bragg said.
Two of the men — Juárez and Servita Arocha — did not attack police, Bragg added.
Juarez gave a suspect a jacket and then put on another before getting rid of it to avoid arrest, Bragg said.
He is charged with
tampering with physical evidence and third-degree obstruction of a judicial proceeding
, prosecutors explained.
Servita Arocha is charged with second-degree assault and obstruction of public administration after he allegedly kicked a police officer's radio.
[The anti-immigrant law SB4 comes into effect in Texas, what should you know about it?]
Brito, who authorities said was at the center of the melee when he refused to follow police orders to move because he was blocking the street with a group of people, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, obstruction of government administration, tampering with physical evidence and third-degree obstruction of a judicial proceeding, Bragg said.
Brito has been free on bail since February 1, according to Bragg.
Reverón, Gómez-Izquiel, Servita Arocha and Juárez were released on bail after their court appearances.
On January 31, New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the decision to allow the suspects to be released.
"It doesn't satisfy me at all," he declared.
"These are law enforcement officials who should never, under any circumstances, be subjected to physical attacks. It is wrong in every way, and I hope judges and prosecutors do the right thing. We have changed bail laws "We now have different laws as a result of what we did in 2022, in the 2023 budgets, and we are seeing a decrease in repeat offenders. We have all kinds of data to show that it is working, but I find that situation abhorrent."
[The bipartisan immigration reform fails in the Senate, which is now voting on an aid plan for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan]
Police have said that some of the suspects who were released are believed
to have taken a bus out of New York
.
The men were not required to remain in New York under the conditions of their release.
Bragg announced Thursday that authorities are searching for four more people suspected of assaulting officers.
Up to 13 people may have participated in the attack, prosecutors said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said this week that the agency had detained four people allegedly involved in the attack.
However, three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that the people in ICE custody do not match the identities or names of those involved in the New York attack.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, who also spoke to reporters Thursday, stated that authorities do not care whether the defendants were immigrants or asylum seekers and that most people
in those groups are law-abiding citizens. law
.
But he said if the defendants are found guilty, the federal government must do its job by "deporting them from our city."
The authorities did not comment this Thursday on the whereabouts of the accused, who could have fled.