Man IDed As Machete Wielding Robber Was Freed Now Another Gets 5 Years

Man IDed As Machete Wielding Robber Was Freed Now Another Gets 5 Years by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 3 – A defendant accused of participating in a machete and bb-gun robbery of a convenience store was up for a bond hearing on September 9 before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron. Inner City Press was there, the only media in the SDNY Mag court.   Judge Aaron asked the prosecutor what evidence he had against this defendant, beyond a cooperator identifying him at the person in the mask in images not available to the public or press in the indictment.   The Assistant US Attorney, referring to these same images, referred to black and white shoelaces.   After taking a break with Pre-Trial Service, Judge Aaron ordered the defendant released on $50,000 bond with co-signers.   The AUSA asked for a stay in order to appeal to the assigned District Judge George B. Daniels, and that was granted.  Judge Daniels upheld the released on bond. Jump cut to July 29 when Perez pled guilty, with sentencing set for December 3, then pushed to January 21, 2026. On Moises Hernandez de la Cruz, who pled guilty back on May 21, on October 31 the US Attorney's Office wrote in asking for 41 months on November 5. On November 5 he got 36 months. On December 8 counsel to Juan Lopez, quoting him that "if my father was there for me, I wouldn't be here," asked for 63 month for him prior to deportation to the DR. On December 11 the US wrote in asking for 117 months. On December 16 he was sentenced to 84 months, with proximity to NYC and RDAP recommended. On January 7 counsel to co-defendent Fernandez wrote in asking for five years on January 15. On January 12 the US Attorney's Office wrote in asking for 7 years. On January 15 he got five years. On March 3 Perez got five years.   The case is  US v. Fernandez, et al., 24-cr-528 (Daniels) *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com SDNY Press Room 500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com