Feds raise pressure on sanctuary
which has created tension with the landlord.
“It’s a bigger issue than just the new law,” said Andrea, a 41-year-old teacher who asked that her last name not be published because of her job.
Police said Manson has a criminal record of 78 arrests dating to 1993.
“Why had he been let go all these years?” Andrea asked. “Watching the [surveillance] video, you can tell something isn’t right. … You could see it on his face. He needs help.”
Under the new bail law, judges do not have discretion to assess a defendant’s likelihood to reoffend, unlike some other states that have overhauled the cash bail system.
“The only options I have are release on your own recognizance and supervised release,” said Manhattan Judge Heidi Cesare, at Manson’s latest arraignment on Thursday. Citing Manson’s lengthy criminal history, six skipped court appearances and litany of pending burglary charges in Brooklyn, Cesare said, “I’m not confident you will return to court. Mr. Manson, I hope you prove me wrong.”
An NYPD spokesman said that while the department supports criminal justice reform, judges should be allowed to take criminal history into account when making a bail decision.
“Due to the absence of such a provision, over the past week, there have been several incidents in which offenders were arrested and subsequently released, only to victimize additional members of our communities, within hours of their initial arrest,” said Assistant Chief Thomas Conforti. “As a result, additional New Yorkers in fact became victims. That should not happen.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating Manson in connection with six other similar burglaries.
Manson’s appearances in Brooklyn court followed a similar pattern. He received supervised release on Christmas for three burglaries on different days at the same Midwood St. apartment house.
He was arrested again for throwing a brick through a glass door of a Fenimore St. building on Jan. 2 and 3 and taking packages. A prosecutor asked for $15,000 bail because of the previous burglaries, but a judge denied that request on Jan. 4 and Manson walked out on supervised release yet again.
“I’m pissed. I’m very angry,” said Hasan Bishara, who lives in the New York Ave. building that Manson is suspected of burglarizing.
A package of clothes addressed to Bishara was stolen last month. “If he did it the second time, for sure he’ll do it the third time. This guy should stay in jail!” Bishara, 29, said.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch shared his anger.
“Cops on the street are past the point of frustration, because we saw this new reality coming from a mile away. You can draw a direct line from Mayor de Blasio’s anti-cop campaign in 2013 to the present disaster,” he said.
Federal immigration authorities subpoenaed city Correction Department officials for information about four foreign nationals — including the suspect charged in the murder and sexual abuse of a 92-year-old Queens woman — ramping up the conflict between federal officials and the city’s sanctuary policy.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement — the Homeland Security agency responsible for arresting and deporting people in the U.S. illegally — could use the subpoenas issued Friday to force the Correction Department to release information about Reeaz Khan, 21, an undocumented immigrant accused in the slaying and sexual abuse of Maria Fuertes, 92, of South Richmond Hill.
If the city doesn’t hand over the information on Khan and the other three suspects, it could face federal fines.
The city has failed to cooperate with ICE’s previous requests to detain illigal immigrants charged with crimes, said Henry Lucero, acting deputy executive associate director for ICE’s enforcement and removal operations.
The subpoenas are “different from what we’ve done in the past,” Lucero told the Daily News. He said the sanctuary policies like New York’s are “making cities more dangerous.”
“We’re not asking any agency to enforce immigration law,” Lucero said. “We’re issuing these detainers on probable cause...asking [law enforcement agencies] to release them to us before you release them to the streets.”
Besides Khan, ICE is seeking information on a 26-year-old El Salvadoran citizen arrested in September 2019 for assault, and who is also wanted in El Salvador for homicide; a 38-year old Mexican citizen busted in January 2019 for attempted rape, unlawful imprisonment and attempted assault and who had two prior arrests; and another 38-year-old Mexican citizen who was arrested in October 2019 on drug charges and had already been deported once.
All three have been released from custody, ICE says. Except for Khan, ICE declined to confirm the suspects’ identities.