Suspected getaway driver in NYC border agent shooting remanded amid sanctuary city showdown


The suspected getaway driver in the Washington Heights shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol agent was remanded in Manhattan federal court Friday as Manhattan Distract Attorney Alvin Bragg said he would also be filing charges.

Federal prosecutors have charged Christhian Aybar-Berroa, 22, as being an accessory after the fact. He appeared Friday before Manhattan Federal Judge Ona Wang, where his public defender reserved making an argument for his release.

The feds have also charged the alleged shooter, Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, 21, with one count of possession of ammunition by an illegal alien. He is expected to appear at a later date.

Top Trump officials have held up the two men, who are from the Dominican Republic, as emblematic of what they are calling a “surge of violent crime” perpetrated by undocumented immigrants.

The allegations against the two men featured prominently in the first pages of a lawsuit the government filed against New York City on Thursday, seeking to end its sanctuary city status.

An analysis by the news organization The City this week reported, however, that the majority of undocumented immigrants federal authorities have detained in Manhattan since May — when the Trump administration began rapidly escalating its mass deportation agenda — have not been accused or convicted of crimes.

The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office alleges Mora Nunez shot the 42-year-old CBP agent — who was hospitalized in stable condition and whose name authorities have not disclosed — in the face and right arm after a clash in Fort Washington Park by W. 178th St. on Saturday.

CCTV footage shows a man authorities have identified as Mora Nunez getting off a moped and approaching the agent and his girlfriend from behind. A tussle ensued, Mora Nunez allegedly fired a shot and ducked out of view when the agent shot back.

Mora Nunez was hit twice before he and Aybar-Berroa fled the scene, with Aybar-Berroa taking the suspect gunman to the hospital on a moped, authorities allege.

Barry Williams/ New York Daily News

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference on July 21 about the shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer in Manhattan. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)

On Friday, Bragg said his office would also bring charges against both men.

“The D.A.’s office has been coordinating with federal prosecutors and, now that their charges have been filed, we intend to bring state charges in the near future,” an office spokesperson said in a statement.

If found guilty, Mora Nunez faces up to 15 years in prison, and Aybar-Berroa faces a maximum of seven years.

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