Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought criminal charges against seven people on Thursday in connection to the assault of two New York City Police Department officers in Times Square.
A grand jury indicted seven people on Thursday, five of whom face felony charges and were previously arrested. Their names are Yorman Reveron, 24; Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19; Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19; Wilson Juarez, 21; and Yohenry Brito, 24. Of the five suspects, four of them also face charges of second-degree assault, Bragg said at a news conference.
The names of two defendants who were indicted were not released because they have not yet been arrested, the top prosecutor said.
“This assault … sickened me and outraged me,” Bragg said. “As a lifelong New Yorker, I do not tolerate attacks on police officers, and certainly I do not as Manhattan district attorney.”
The charges stem from the attack that occurred on Jan. 27, in which an NYPD officer and lieutenant were beaten by several immigrants outside a shelter near Times Square.
Gomez-Izquiel allegedly grabbed an officer and kicked another, while Reveron allegedly grabbed and pulled the two officers to the ground. The district attorney’s office said in a release that Juarez and Arocha did not kick or hit an officer. Arocha kicked a police radio, and Juarez watched the scene from a distance before giving a jacket to Brito.
Brito, Gomez-Izquiel, Reveron, and Arocha are charged with two counts of second-degree assault and one count of second-degree obstructing governmental administration. Juarez and Brito each face one count of tampering with physical evidence. Juarez is also charged with two counts of third-degree hindering prosecution, and Brito has one count of the same crime.
Gomez-Izquiel, Juarez, Arocha, and Reveron were the first four people arrested, according to the district attorney’s office. There were numerous reports that they fled to California, as the men were not required to stay in New York based on the terms of their release, police said. However, Bragg said reports of Homeland Security federal investigators arresting four people were not affiliated with the New York City investigation.
Those who were arrested in the incident were released without bail, drawing severe criticism from New York Republicans calling for Bragg’s removal. Bragg said Brito has been held on bail since Feb. 1. Reveron, Gomez-Izquiel, Arocha, and Juarez were released on their own recognizance after their arraignments.
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Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) had denounced the decision from Bragg’s office to decline setting bail for the case’s multiple suspects, calling the attack an “abhorrent act.” She also promoted reports that the suspects had fled to the other side of the country.
Bragg said on Thursday that authorities are still looking for four more people suspected of attacking the officers. Up to 13 people may have been involved, law enforcement has stated.