A high-ranking member of the Tren de Aragua gang who says he is an asylum seeker and two other refugees wearing expensive Ralph Lauren teddy bear tops went to court on Wednesday and were charged with smuggling a lot of weapons in New York City.
This is just the latest story of a migrant being involved in crime in the sanctuary city.
They pleaded not guilty to several crimes, such as conspiracy, illegal sale of a handgun, and unlawful possession of a weapon, when they were taken to the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office of Alvin Bragg said the guns for sale were semiautomatic handguns, shotguns, rifles, and “ghost guns.”
One of the semi-automatic guns had a “sear switch” that turned it into an automatic gun, and a lot of them came with huge systems for feeding bullets to increase their capacity.
prosecutors said that between September 2024 and January 2025, the suspects sold eleven weapons ten times. This was shown in court papers and statements that were made public. The migrants are charged with giving information about the guns, including pictures, over WhatsApp. The buyer would then show up at the agreed-upon place and pay for the guns.
Stefano Pachon, a high-ranking member of the Tren de Aragua gang who is 21 years old, is accused of selling a lot of loaded guns, some of which had illegal ways to load ammo, and one of which was a “ghost gun.”
He is said to have sold the guns while he was on a bench warrant. He had already been arrested four times before this.
Prosecutors said Pachon was the head of the group and negotiated the prices and purchases of most of the guns. There were sales in the Bronx and at a gas stop on East 125th Street and Second Avenue in East Harlem. He wore a red hoodie to court.
His lawyer told the judge that he is a Venezuelan seeking refuge who is eligible for some protection because he is poor and can’t work because he was stabbed in the past. His lawyer told him that President Biden just signed an order to protect Venezuelans. In December 2023, he went to the United States.
When asked what she thought, Judge Althea Drysdale said that the migrants were not protection seekers just because they were from Venezuela.
Darwin Figuera, 34, and Yorman Serrano, 31, are also charged in the 31-count accusation. A fourth person is also charged in the accusation as a co-conspirator.
Being dressed in a green fuzzy hoodie with a teddy bear “polo” logo, Serrano has a previous arrest in Queens and was caught in Connecticut with a device for shoplifting. In a white sweater with teddy bear patterns, Figuera arrived in the U.S. in October, while Serrano has been here since December 2023.
All three of them used a translator to talk.
Part of the case was based on an investigation into Victor Parra, who was in charge of a group that stole smartphones. Parra pleaded guilty to two counts of grand theft earlier this week. He will now spend two to six years in state jail. The proof that was gathered during that investigation helped to look into this gun trafficking network even more.
In a statement, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, “These charges are a stark reminder that we must always remain vigilant against illegal, high-powered guns and the dangerous gangs that would use them to hurt New York City families and communities.”
“The NYPD will always unflinchingly perform the heroic work required to prevent these weapons from getting into criminals’ hands, so that everyone in our city can live free from fear and violence.”
Bragg says that gun crime in Manhattan is going down, but a lot more needs to be done.
“Selling illegal weapons in Manhattan is not okay and won’t be accepted,” Bragg said in his statement. “The scourge of gun violence takes a devastating toll on our communities, and I have met with far too many heartbroken families who have lost a loved one because of illegal firearms.”
No bail was set for Pachon by the judge. Figuera was given $50,000 cash bail, and Serrano was given $50,000 bail.
Four 9-millimeter semi-automatic handguns with magazines, a Polymer80 9-millimeter semi-automatic ghost gun with a magazine that can hold 34 rounds, and a Smith & Wesson were among the guns that were taken away.A handgun with a 38 special caliber, a shotgun with a 12 gauge semi-automatic barrel, and a Smith & Wesson.A fully automatic pistol in.40 caliber that can hold 15 rounds in its clip, and an American Tactical 5.56×45 millimeter semiautomatic rifle with
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