'St. Pat's shooter' flight risk
Pedro Hernandez, the accused career criminal and onetime darling of criminal-justice advocates, was ordered held without bail Tuesday — as prosecutors revealed he tried to flee to Panama while being sought on an attempted-murder charge.
Hernandez, 22, also booked “several flights” during his nearly one month on the lam following a shooting outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, prosecutors said at his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.
“This is direct evidence that the defendant is a flight risk,” Assistant District Attorney Jennifer El-Fakir told Judge Michael Gaffey during the hearing.
Defense attorney Andre Travieso countered bail was not necessary for his client, who has three open cases in The Bronx from 2019 hanging over him. “My client is a lifetime resident of New York,” Travieso told the judge.
“He has very, very strong family ties. He has a mom, sister, uncle, cousin here today. My belief is that my client will be here for his court appearances.”
Prosecutors, noting that Hernandez has ties to Puerto Rico, asked Gaffey to set $150,000 cash bail or a $450,000 bond.
But the judge, citing Hernandez’s past arrests, opted to jail him without bail.
Hernandez was busted Monday on an attempted-murder charge stemming from the Aug. 28 shooting sparked by a dispute over a three-card monte game. He was on the run for nearly a month.
Hernandez, who has a lengthy criminal record, was once championed by criminaljustice advocates who fought to get him released after he served one year at Rikers Island on a 2015 robbery case.