Two alleged members of the international criminal organization Tren de Aragua were indicted for attempted murder and robbery of a woman in Hempstead, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly and Police Department Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
Frederick Morillo Chavez, 21, of New York City and Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 20, of East Elmhurst were arraigned on grand jury indictment charges of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of robbery, attempted assault, three counts of robbery, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of criminal use of a firearm, two counts of assault, two counts of scriminal use of a firearm, robbery, criminal possession of a firearm, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
Chavez had been arraigned on Wednesday, June 4 and Mata was arraigned on Wednesday, June 11, both pleading not guilty, according to Donnelly. Both Chavez and Mata face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Donnelly said, according to the indictment, on May 22, 2024, a woman was coming home from work and got off a bus near a parking lot on Front Street in Hempstead.
She was walking through a parking lot when Chavez and Mata allegedly came up behind her on a moped, the DA said. The victim crossed through the parking lot and made her way down the sidewalk when they allegedly circled back around on their moped and followed her, Donnell said.
According to the DA, Chavez and Mata stopped the moped near the victim, and Mata jumped off the moped, allegedly pointed a gun at the victim and attempted to take her bags, which contained multiple items, including AirPods, a debit card, portable chargers and an iPhone charger.
Donnelly said Mata and the victim allegedly struggled over one bag when the victim screamed and eventually let go. Mata took the bag, brought it back to the moped, where Chavez was waiting, and then returned to the victim and grabbed her lunch bag, according to Donnelly.
The DA said that when the woman would not let go, Mata allegedly shot her in her right arm. She dropped her lunch bag, and Chavez sped off with Mata and the victim’s two bags, Donnelly said.
Chavez was arrested on May 16 and Mata was arrested on June 10, Donnelly said. Both are alleged members of the international criminal organization Tren de Aragua, according to the DA.
Mata had been incarcerated in New York City where he was held on charges brought by the Queens County District Attorney’s Office in June 2024 of attempted murder related to a shooting of two New York City Police Officers who attempted to pull him over on a moped on June 3, 2024, less than two weeks after the shooting in Hempstead, Donnelly said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on June 10 that Mata was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
