An off-duty NYPD detective was stabbed 10 times by two men accused of being in the country illegally, prosecutors said Wednesday. Despite telling them repeatedly that he was a police officer, Detective Jose Mercedes allegedly chased the pair for two blocks without shoes before his injuries and blood loss forced him to stop.
The details emerged during the Bronx court arraignment of D’Angelo Caraballo and Sneinder Mejia, who face charges stemming from the Oct. 2 attack. Both defendants were ordered held without bail on attempted murder-related charges.
Bronx Assistant District Attorney Paul Irace said Mejia repeatedly stabbed Mercedes as the detective tried to take him into custody. “He used his training to stop this from happening,” Irace told the court.
According to the prosecutor, Mercedes identified himself as an NYPD officer more than six times during the confrontation.
Irace said the injured detective pursued the suspects as they escaped on a moped, continuing until severe blood loss left him too weak to go on.
More than two weeks after the assault, Mercedes still could not use his left hand and was recovering from surgery, Irace told Judge Alvin Yearwood.
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About six NYPD detectives attended the hearing in support of their colleague.
The confrontation began as Mercedes unloaded belongings from his vehicle. Prosecutors said the two suspects approached on a two-wheeled vehicle and demanded his chain, leading to a physical struggle with the 10-year NYPD veteran.
“I almost died,” Mercedes said at a news conference earlier this week. He said he told the men in both English and Spanish that he was a police officer, but they ignored his warnings.
Caraballo and Mejia fled after the stabbing. Authorities later arrested them in Massachusetts. Officials said both men are from the Dominican Republic and were in the United States unlawfully.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials did not immediately respond to a request for details about the defendants’ current immigration status.
Mejia, who prosecutors identify as the alleged stabber, faces first- and second-degree attempted murder charges involving a police officer. Caraballo was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer.
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