Lead Defendant in Alleged Car Theft Ring Was Ordered Free Then Remanded by District Judge

Lead Defendant in Alleged Car Theft Ring Was Ordered Free Then Remanded by District Judge by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, June 11 – A stolen car ring was has been charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - and the lead defendant, after being ordered free on bail, has had that stayed until at least 2:30 pm on June 11.   On June 9 the US Attorney's Office announced it was "charging 13 defendants in connection with operating a stolen car ring involving approximately 100 stolen cars worth millions of dollars.  The defendants are charged with conspiracy to possess and sell stolen vehicles, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Nine of the defendants were arrested today and seven were presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis.  The remaining two defendants will be presented tomorrow."   Inner City Press was the only media in the Mag Court on June 10 when lead named defendant Pena Brito was presented. Magistrate Judge Willis ordered him free on bond - then the AUSA asked for a stay to appeal to District Judge Denise L. Cote.   Judge Willis issued a stay until 10 am on June 10. Then Judge Cote docketed that the stay would be extended to 2:30 pm when she'll hold a hearing.  Inner City Press went at 2:30 pm, where the Assistant US Attorney described fake IDs and the difficult of apprehension: a Sting Ray device tracked defendant's phone to just inside an apartment door he didn't not open. Defense counsel said a woman had a gun put to her head; the AUSA said she came out when only one officer remained their, who point his gun at her and told her to lie on the ground. Inside, the defendant was found in a bedroom - and now ordered remanded.  The case is USA v. Pena Brito, et al., 1:26-cr-216 (Cote / Willis) *** 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 Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 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