NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Five men charged in last month's mob attack on two NYPD officers outside a Times Square migrant shelter pleaded not guilty in court Friday.
The five defendants, who are all recent asylum seekers to the city, were arraigned in the noon hour in Manhattan Criminal Court.
All five were remanded to Rikers Island by the judge, who noted the seriousness of the charges and potential risks to the community.
They're due back in court on April 13.
The five men—Yohenry Brito, 24, Yorman Reveron, 24, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, and Wilson Juarez, 21—are among eight men arrested so far in the Jan. 27 attack.
All of the men face charges of second-degree assault and obstructing governmental administration, except for Juarez, who is charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution.
Their bails were set at varying amounts up to $100,000. Juarez's bail was set at $1, as requested by his defense attorney, so he can be held and avoid being deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Juarez and Servita Arocha were arrested just this week after immigration agents tracked them down to an apartment in the Bronx.
Police have said as many as 13 men may have been involved in the attack, and some suspects remain at large.
Chaotic video from that night shows a group of men ganging up on two NYPD cops—a lieutenant and an officer—who were trying to disperse a "disorderly group" outside the shelter at 220 West 42nd St., police said.
The officers were pummeled and stomped on, leaving them with cuts and bruises and one with a broken wrist, according to officials.
Some of the defendants have prior arrests for crimes like assault and shoplifting.
In fact, earlier this week Gomez-Izquiel was re-arrested for his alleged role in a violent shoplifting incident at the Macy's inside the Queens Center Mall.
Police alleged Gomez-Izquiel acted as a lookout as his accomplices shoved more than $600 worth of clothing into a bag—and then punched a security guard in the face—as they fled with the stolen merchandise.
As the men faced a judge Friday, the head of the NYPD's largest union, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry, sat in the front row. He said cops won't be punching bags and blamed bail reform for allowing the suspects to go free after they were initially charged in the "vicious" assault.
"We said it from the beginning, they should've been put behind bars, they should've never been released," Hendry said.