Judge put in his place a member of the Aragua Train accused of this terrible crime in New York (VIDEO)
Lapatilla
Steven Hirsch
Three Venezuelan immigrants, including a baby-faced Aragua Train leader, brazenly sold illegal handguns, shotguns, rifles and ghost guns throughout New York City, prosecutors charged.
By New York Post
Alleged ringleader Stefano Pachon, 21, and his two accomplices arrived in a Manhattan court on Wednesday to face gun trafficking conspiracy charges outlined in a 31-count indictment.
Pachón, who amassed a long criminal record since arriving in the Big Apple from Venezuela in late 2023, sold nine different loaded guns during the months-long crime, prosecutors said.
“The defendant has access to a seemingly endless supply of loaded weapons,” said Deputy District Attorney Yuval Simchi-Levi. “The defendant sold the weapons while he was free on a court order.”
Manhattan District Attorney
The indictment arose from an investigation into Victor Parra, 30, the leader of an interstate migrant moped gang who spent three months as a fugitive before being arrested by New York police in May.
Parra pleaded guilty this week to grand theft charges, court records show.
Evidence in the case against Parra eventually led to the arms trafficking ring allegedly led by Pachón, a high-ranking member of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, prosecutors said.
Along with Darwin Figuera, 34, and Yorman Serrano, 31, and an as-yet-unidentified fourth defendant, Pachon trafficked an arsenal of high-quality firearms through WhatsApp, according to prosecutors.
One semi-automatic weapon sold was equipped with a “safety switch” that could convert it into an automatic weapon, prosecutors said.
They sold 11 guns, authorities said.
Pachon would negotiate the purchase and price of most of the guns, with sales occurring throughout the Bronx and at an East Harlem gas station at East 125th Street and Second Avenue, officials said.
The trio who appeared in court Wednesday are from Venezuela and all pleaded not guilty.
Pachon’s lawyer, Michael Fineman, tried to emphasize that he is an “asylum seeker” and benefits from certain protections, but Judge Althea Drysdale quickly interrupted him and corrected his bail request.
“With all due respect, I don’t know if that should be part of your application,” Drysdale responded. “The fact that all (the defendants) are from Venezuela does not mean that you can be an asylum seeker.”
Read more at New York Post
