Reputed Tren de Aragua gangsters nabbed in NYC felony drug raid — only to be cut loose with a slap on the wrist
By: Joe Marino
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A pair of reputed migrant gangbangers were nabbed in a drug raid at a Queens auto shop — only to be cut loose without bail after prosecutors reduced the charges, The Post has learned.
Jose Tamaronis-Caldera, 27, and Richard Garcia, 33, both tied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, were busted on felony drug and gun charges in a Feb. 5 raid at V&R Auto and Collision in Woodside, along with 54-year-old shop owner Rafael Nieves, according to sources and court records.
But once the case got to court, Queens prosecutors reduced the charges, hitting the migrants with a misdemeanor count of possession of an air gun — which let them walk without bail.
Nieves, who faced the most serious charges, had his drug and gun possession charges knocked down as well, with the new counts not eligible for bail under the state's controversial criminal justice reforms.
Now all three are back on the streets.
"These are not misguided individuals," a law enforcement source told The Post. "They're documented members of a known violent criminal enterprise, a gang who has planted their flag here by entrenching themselves in narcotics, gun and human trafficking — and the best we can do is let them out?
"If we did our jobs with criminals, we wouldn't have ICE scouring our streets for detainees."
Tamaronis-Caldera and Garcia crossed the US border illegally in 2023, but were released into the country under former President Joe Biden's lax border policies, federal immigration sources said.
Tamaronis-Caldera, who entered the US with his wife and two children, told immigration officials he would be living in Durham, North Carolina, and Garcia was supposed to stay in Savannah, Georgia.
Immigration sources said a deportation detainer has been placed on Garcia.
According to law enforcement sources, the two migrants were living at tax-funded Big Apple shelters at converted hotels — the Roosevelt in Manhattan and the Crowne Plaza in Queens.
Following the Feb. 5 raid on the Queens auto shop, all three were charged with gun and drug possession after cops found a Glock handgun and "a large quantity of controlled substance," the NYPD said.
The sources said the evidence seized in the raid included a large stash of cocaine, a .40-caliber Glock Gen 22 and more than $3,100 in cash, and all of the suspects were charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Under the state's bail reform statutes, a judge can opt to set bail on the gun charge based on several factors, including criminal history and chance of rearrest.
But it never came to that.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Queens DA's Office the next day, the two migrants were only charged with possession of an imitation handgun — an air gun recovered at the garage.
Nieves' charges were knocked down to fourth-degree weapons possession and seventh-degree drug possession and he was freed on a conditional release but with no bail, records show.
In an email Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney's Office noted that the charges lodged in the complaint are not eligible for bail under the state's criminal justice reforms.
"The DA's office reviews all evidence and charges as warranted," the spokesperson said. "In this case, the weapon charged against defendant Nieves is for an unloaded firearm.
"Our office asked for supervised release and the judge granted supervised release," they said. "The charges against the other two defendants, Garcia and Tamaronis-Caldera, are for possession of an air-CO2 pistol and are not bail eligible."
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NYC doing NYC BS letting criminals run their streets.
The people of NYC voted for it.
Just another of DA Alvin Bragg's gesture of international friendship to the NYPDand ICE!
You lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.
NY deserves what it gets for electing dimbulbs who operate like this.
I agree.
and because felonies aren’t pursued, it becomes evidence crime is down.
Plus, the fact that NYC doesn't report them to the FBI.
Hey wait ... maybe that will change too!
That's okay, Sherrif Kash is coming....
Did someone hear a bunch of little "poofs" when you posted this?
Probably even moreso now that he has been confirmed by the Senate. It's a done deal.
It’s unbelievable that dems want criminals like these IN the community. It makes no sense at all.