2 New York City men indicted on attempted murder, robbery charges in Hempstead attack

Two New York City men have been indicted on attempted murder and robbery charges, just days after one of them was sentenced for shooting two NYPD officers, authorities said.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly on Thursday announced the pair were indicted in an attempted murder and robbery of a woman walking home from work last year in Hempstead.

One of the men, Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 20, of East Elmhurst, was sentenced on Tuesday to up to 28 years in prison for shooting two NYPD officers during a traffic stop in Queens less than two weeks after the Hempstead attack.

In that incident, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement that Mata shot NYPD Officer Richard Yarusso in the lower chest and fellow Officer Christopher Abreu in the leg when the two attempted to stop him from driving an unregistered motorcycle the wrong way on Ditmars Boulevard at 1:40 a.m. on June 3, 2024. Mata was shot during the incident, then arrested, authorities said.

The Hempstead attack took place around 12:35 a.m. on May 22, 2024, officials said.

In that incident, Mata and Frederick Morillo Chavez, 21, of New York City, followed a woman as she got off a bus on Front Street. They approached her from behind on a moped, pointing a gun at the woman as they "attempted to take her bags that contained multiple items," Donnelly said in a statement. 

During the struggle, Mata shot the victim in the arm, authorities said.

Morillo Chavez was arrested by Nassau police on May 16. Mata was arrested Tuesday, having been held in custody since last June on the police-shooting charges in Queens.

In announcing the arrest, Donnelly said the pair were members of the international criminal organization Tren de Aragua. A reputed Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua was targeted by the Trump administration as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year. 

In a statement Thursday, Donnelly said: "We have seen an increase in gang activity associated with Tren de Aragua in New York City over the past year, and now, my office is prosecuting the first case associated with this international criminal outfit in Nassau County."

The indictment charges Mata and Morillo Chavez with attempted murder, assault, robbery and other charges. Mata pleaded not guilty on Wednesday; Morillo Chavez pleaded not guilty on June 4.

Mata is due back in court on July 7, and Morillo Chavez on July 15. Each faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

According to court records, Mata pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault in the Queens police-shooting case on May 20 and was sentenced earlier this week to 28 years in prison by Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder. That includes 25 years in prison for the attempted murder charge followed by 5 years of post-release supervision, as well as 3 years for the assault — with 3 years of post-release supervision. The sentences are consecutive.

Calling it "simply a miracle" the two officers survived the encounter, Katz noted the NYPD recovered a loaded Hi-Point .380-caliber pistol at the scene after the shooting.

The attorney representing Mata declined to comment, while the attorney for Morillo Chavez could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”