A Bronx judge Monday eased conditions of a teen’s release in the wake of criminal charges related to accused killers slamming into the youngster’s minivan while fleeing a mass shooting.
Around 20 family members — aunts, grandparents, cousins, and parents — packed a hearing in Bronx Criminal Court to support Josue Lopez-Vasquez, 18 .
“Well, we’re feeling anxious. We’re trying to get this over with already,” said Lopez-Vasquez’s father, Adalberto Santiago. “We don’t want to spend any of the days in the courthouse. My son has nothing to do with this… my son is 100% innocent. He doesn’t need to spend another day in court.”
Judge Linda Lopez ordered Lopez-Vasquez released on his own recognizance rather than having supervision with frequent check-ins.
“I am questioning whether supervised release is necessary here, because I see that he has so much family here and so much support, I don’t think he’ll need supervised release to make sure he shows up…” Lopez said.
The teen’s father admitted “we’re relieved about that one.”
“They had him coming in, it was almost like probation,” Santiago said. “So it’s kind of useless for a kid of his caliber to even go to a supervised release program. He’s never been in any kind of [criminal] situations.”
Lopez-Vasquez was arrested at St. Barnabas Hospital after officers responding to a shooting that left one dead and four wounded discovered a magazine containing two .45-caliber hollow-point rounds on the dashboard of his black Dodge Caravan, along with a semi-automatic pistol lying beneath the vehicle on Sept. 1, court documents show.
Courtesy of Adaberto Santiago
Josue Lopez-Vasquez, 18, is pictured at his high school graduation in June. (Courtesy of Adaberto Santiago)
The officers had been chasing the gunmen when the fleeing suspects rammed into Lopez-Vasquez’s SUV at Arnow and Hone Aves. in Allerton.
The crash occurred minutes after the gunmen were spotted leaping from a Honda and opening fire into a crowd gathered about a half mile away outside an Allerton Ave. smoke shop near White Plains Rd., cops said.
“It was scary. But you know, I am gonna make it through. We’ll make it through,” said Lopez-Vasquez in the courthouse corridor after the hearing.
