By: Shahael Myrthil
A large number of arrests reportedly made have been in connection with a slew of armed robberies and muggings in NYC since the emergence of COVID19 in March.
Many of the bandits have gone to court, to only be slapped with a warning and sent home without ever posting bail.
Tied to at least three of the arrests in Queens and Manhattan, is Anderson Ortiz, a nineteen-year-old teenager responsible for the mugging of an elderly Asian couple in May, as cited in police and court records.
The 63-year-old male was heading down 60th street, an area which is adjacent to Bay Parkway in Brooklyn, when Ortiz snuck up behind him, and reportedly punched him in the chest before running off with his money, the NY Post noted.
The wife of the elderly man tried to step in, but was knocked to the ground, and had her purse stolen after Ortiz’ accomplice took off with her accessory.
Another incident on Ortiz’s record include: a Myrtle Avenue BP gas station robbery that occurred on April 21st. With his hands visibly in his pocket, the teen bandit had reportedly threatened to shoot the clerk, while his accomplice wiped the register clean of whatever money she could get her hands on at that time, according to the NY Post.
Oritz’s first bail of $50,000, initiated by Judge Kim Peterson, for two of his crime sprees, was dropped entirely by another judge just seven days later.
As Brooklyn District Attorney Spokesman Oren Yaniv said, Ortiz’s cases had lacked enough evidence to justify the bail amount.
Ortiz is currently a free man walking, despite the five pending cases on his criminal record.
Under the state’s new reforms, criminals are not eligible to receive bail for any “Second-degree robberies aided by another,” according to the NY Post.
Before this reformation, those who committed non-violent offenses couldn’t be released from custody if their bail amount was not posted to the jail. Under this reformed bail law, they are. This essentially means that if you committed a non-violent crime, you won’t get jailed. Judges are forced to release repeat offenders, as cited by the same source above.
State Assemblyman William Barclay (R-Oswego) expressed his concern over this bail reform, and worries that it potentially would prompt a significantly increased amount of violence, considering how criminal offenders are being leniently handled in the judicial system.
This reform, Barclay says, makes light of what should be a serious legislation, and undeniably protects repeat offenders at the public’s expense.
NYPD statistics examined within the past six months shows at least 76 other suspects were arrested on multiple occasions and set free.