A migrant convicted of punching a police officer in Times Square smiled in court as a judge sentenced him to 12 months behind bars.
Darwin Andrés Gómez-Izquiel accepted a plea deal for his role in a violent assault on two police officers on January 27.
Six accomplices, all of them immigrants, were also arrested in connection with the crime.
The crime came amid rising immigrant incarceration rates, and criminal justice experts are said to be furious about New York’s sanctuary city laws that prevent agents from working with ICE on cases involving illegal immigrants.
Many of the suspects initially managed to evade arrest. Some were arrested again on separate charges and jailed amid a wave of outrage over the lax bail conditions that freed them.
A migrant convicted of punching a police officer in Times Square smiled in court as a judge sentenced him to 12 months behind bars
Gomez-Izquiel, wearing headphones and a beige prison uniform, was photographed smiling during the hearing.
On Tuesday, Gomez-Izquiel appeared in a Manhattan courtroom, where a judge ruled that he must serve 365 days in jail. Wearing headphones and a beige prison uniform, Gomez-Izquiel was photographed smirking during the hearing.
In late July, the 19-year-old accepted the deal, which would see him plead guilty to second-degree assault in exchange for spending a year on the notorious Rikers Island.
One of his co-defendants also accepted a plea deal, while five other cases involving Ulises Bohórquez, Yohenry Brito, Edgarlis Vegas, Wilson Juárez and Yorman Reverón are pending.
Gómez-Izquiel had arrived in the United States just five months before participating in this robbery.
On Tuesday, Gomez-Izquiel appeared in a Manhattan courtroom, where a judge ruled that he must serve 365 days in jail.
Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry previously said The Post The sentence “should absolutely be longer.”
‘The important test will come when he serves his sentence.
“He should be deported immediately upon his release, without ever setting foot on the streets of our city again.”
The 19-year-old accepted the deal, which would see him plead guilty to second-degree assault in exchange for spending a year on the notorious Rikers Island.
New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell is advocating for sanctuary city laws to be changed to give police the freedom to collaborate with ICE if a migrant is convicted of a violent crime.
As it stands, sanctuary city policies are in place to encourage migrants to come forward and report crimes if they are victims or witnesses, without fear of being deported.
Chell said: ‘Most of them are here for the American dream, but there is a small portion that doesn’t have it.
‘We don’t care what your status is: if you commit a violent crime, there will have to be consequences for it.
“We’re just waiting for the local government to maybe make that adjustment to those laws to really… at the end of the day, this all falls under the banner of keeping people safe.”
Darwin Andrés Gómez-Izquiel accepted a plea deal for his role in a violent assault on two police officers on January 27. Six associates were also arrested in connection with the crime, all of them immigrants.
The development comes amid recent reports that crimes committed by immigrants are on the rise in the United States. According to The Post, up to 75 percent of arrests in Midtown Manhattan for crimes such as assault, robbery and domestic violence are of immigrants.
The publication quoted an unnamed court official as saying: “Come on Mondays! Almost all cases are immigrants.”
“I would say about 75 percent of the arrests in Midtown Manhattan are immigrants, primarily for robbery, assault, domestic incidents and selling counterfeit items,” a Midtown officer said.
The anonymous source said: “You can’t be 100% sure (that they are immigrants) unless you arrest them at a shelter or they are stupid enough to give you the address of a shelter.”
Gomez-Izquiel was arrested outside a migrant shelter on West 42nd Street. The fight began when the group was asked to leave the area.
Police said he “grabbed one officer” and “kicked” another officer.