New York armed robbery suspects face federal charges

Prosecutors said Wednesday two career criminals linked to at least half a dozen armed robberies at the Big Apple, one of whom brazenly declared, “I’ll be out on bail 24 hours” after my arrest, were facing federal charges.

Carlos Perez, 24, and Alvin Velez, 34, were already on parole when they allegedly committed a robbery at gunpoint for two hours before crashing their van in the Bronx early Tuesday morning.

The couple even robbed two food trucks in a crime spree that swept four of New York’s five boroughs, authorities said.

Now they have to deal with the feds.

“The feds will take on a business robbery because of interstate commerce, but in this particular case, they will take it on because of a history of criminals, a very violent history,” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said during a press briefing on Wednesday. . “Highly.”

Perez and Velez, who were arrested by the NYPD after the plane crash, are charged under the Hobbs Act, which makes robbery and extortion a federal crime, according to a criminal case filed against them.

These two are familiar with the law, Essig said.

Vélez had 11 arrests dating back to 2001, including for sexual assault, assault, drugs and attempted murder, and served eight years in state prison before being released on parole in 2021.

Velez has to be released on parole until September 2025 since his release from state prison five times, most recently on drug charges earlier this month, Essig said.

Perez, a prominent member of the Crips-linked 280 street gang, had previously been arrested nine times, including for drugs, sexual assault, possession of a weapon and the alleged beating of a 79-year-old man in November, according to the chief. .

The couple then embarked on a wild robbery between 1:00 and 3:10 a.m. Tuesday, allegedly driving a white Toyota minivan that was stolen at gunpoint from the Ridgefield section of Queens on January 21, Essig said.

The crime wave began just before 1am on Alstyn Avenue in Corona on Tuesday, where two are accused of stealing a necklace and phone from a woman.

Just minutes later, at 01:05 a.m., two alleged scammers stole $200, a phone and credit cards from a man and woman on Queens Boulevard, with the man knocked unconscious with a gun during the robbery, police said.

At 1:45 a.m. on Webman Avenue in Brooklyn, Perez and Velez allegedly stole $175 from a halal food truck, and 10 minutes later they returned to Queens, where, according to police, they stole six people’s credit cards and $300 in cash.

At 2:35 a.m., they returned to Manhattan, where they are accused of robbing another food truck, this time to Washington Square South, where they took the victim’s phone.

The riot finally ended around 3:05 a.m. on Seaman Avenue in northern Manhattan, where a woman’s chain, purse and credit cards were stolen, police said.

Then the chase began, with police cars and an NYPD helicopter chasing the alleged scammers after they crashed a stolen van at 179th Street and Cedar Avenue in the Bronx, with cops eventually catching up to the two and taking them into custody.

“I will be released on bail in 24 hours,” one suspect said in a video recorded by Fox 5 as he was led into an unmarked police car. – I’ll be out on bail.

Helicopter footage shows the two thieves trying unsuccessfully to escape from an army of pursuing policemen.

“If you watch this video, you can see what the fears of our aviation units and our young police officers look like behind this van,” NYPD Patrol Chief John Chell said during a briefing.

The police seized a so-called 9mm ghost pistol from the glove compartment, police said.

“That’s what we’re going to be dealing with, a few bad people committing a few crimes over a few loans, particularly robberies, using stolen cars or cars with fake numbers,” Chell said. “That’s what we faced and we did well.”