Two migrants accused of slashing an off-duty NYPD detective during an attempted robbery in the Bronx were arrested while hiding in a Massachusetts basement, police said Wednesday.
D’Angelo Caraballo, 25, and Sneider Mejia, 24, both Dominican Republic nationals, were located in the basement of a home in Lynn by the US Marshals Service and taken into custody overnight, according to the NYPD.
The suspects will be returned to New York City, where they are expected to face attempted murder charges, the department said.
“When individuals commit violent, unprovoked acts against members of law enforcement, there is nowhere they can hide,” United States Marshal Ricky J. Patel said, describing how the task force worked “around the clock” to track down the pair.
“We will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our police officers to hold violent offenders fully accountable,” Patel added.
Authorities said the two men, who had previously been arrested in New York City, approached off-duty Detective Jose Mercedes on an e-bike in broad daylight Friday afternoon and tried to steal his gold chain in the Bronx.
Mercedes fought back, but the attackers allegedly stabbed him seven times before speeding away and leaving him bleeding on the sidewalk, police said.
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The detective, who is assigned to the NYPD’s 44th Precinct in the Bronx, survived the attack because the knife missed his vital organs, according to sources.
He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center for treatment and released Monday.
Authorities released the suspects’ identities Tuesday as a major manhunt continued across multiple states.
Surveillance footage captured the alleged robbers near the crime scene. Mejia, identified as the driver, was seen racing along the sidewalk, while Caraballo—the suspected stabber—sat shirtless behind him.
Both men entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration and had previously been arrested in New York for various alleged offenses. Critics of the city’s sanctuary policies say those policies limited local law-enforcement cooperation with ICE and allowed the suspects to remain free.
“Both of these suspects were released into the country by the Biden administration, and despite multiple prior arrests in New York, sanctuary politicians refused to cooperate with ICE and released them,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.