The pair of illegal immigrants arrested for shooting an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer allegedly plotted a brazen “robbery spree” on WhatsApp before the shocking attack, said prosecutors on Wednesday.
21-year-old Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez was slapped with an attempted murder charge in an 11-count indictment leveled in Manhattan Supreme Court, said District Attorney Alvin Bragg alongside Mayor Eric Adams.
His fellow Dominican Republic national, 22-year-old Christhian Aybar-Berroa, was indicted on robbery, assault and weapon charges.
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Bragg lauded the 42-year-old CBP officer, who was shot on July 19 in the face during the robbery inside Fort Washington Park, for brave actions that will go on to prevent future crimes.
“We don’t know what would have happened afterwards had he not acted courageously.”
According to The Post, the new case will run parallel with a separate federal prosecution against the duo, and it fleshed out details about the run-up to the fateful confrontation near the red lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge.
Mora Nunez and Aybar-Berro have each amassed long rap sheets since they crossed the US-Mexico border in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
According to Bragg, they had hatched plans to commit robberies in the park over the secure calling and messaging app.
Both arrested illegal migrants rode a moped into the park right before midnight and first robbed a woman of her cellphone, the district attorney stated.
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Then, they spotted the off-duty CBP officer with another person, sitting on a jetty facing the water under the bridge, Bragg said.
Police revealed that the now-arrested illegal migrants Mora Nunez and Aybar-Berro were unaware their would-be victim worked for Customs and Border Protection, as he was not in uniform.
Prosecutors said that as Aybar-Berro turned his moped around for a quick getaway, Mora Nunez crept along rocks before pulling out his gun and pointing it at the officer’s head.
The agent reportedly pulled out his own firearm, and Mora Nunez then fired off a shot, said Bragg.
The CBP officer then shot back and struck Mora Nunez in the thigh and groin. After being unceremoniously dumped outside it by Aybar-Berro, who himself was nabbed the next day, Mora Nunez was arrested at a Bronx hospital, prosecutors said.
Officials say the CBP officer, who has not been publicly identified, remains in a hospital recovering.
Major Adams called for a collaboration between the NYPD, federal law enforcement and Manhattan prosecutors.
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“A small number of people are repeat criminal offenders and carry out dangerous acts, so we want to thank this office for bringing this indictment and bringing these criminals to justice,” he said. “They are dangerous, they did not care who they were harming on our streets.”
