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Tren de Aragua ‘asylum seeker' and migrants trafficked arsenal of weapons across NYC: prosecutor

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Tren de Aragua ‘asylum seeker' and migrants trafficked arsenal of weapons across NYC: prosecutor

A high-ranking Tren de Aragua gang member who claims to be an asylum seeker, along with two other migrants wearing what appeared to be high-end Ralph Lauren-branded teddy bear tops, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with trafficking an arsenal of guns across New York City. 

It’s the latest case in a long list of migrant crime-related cases in the sanctuary city.

The three handcuffed Venezuelans were shuffled into the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, where they pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges, including conspiracy, criminal sale of a firearm, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Stefano Pachon, 21, a high-ranking member of the Tren de Aragua gang, sold multiple loaded guns, according to prosecutors, and some had illegal ammunition loading devices and one was a ghost gun. (Fox News)

TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN NYC APARTMENT NEXT TO DAYCARE FACILITY

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Prosecutors from Alvin Bragg’s Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the weapons sold include semiautomatic pistols, shotguns, rifles and ghost guns. 

One of the semi-automatic weapons was equipped with a “sear switch” to turn it automatic and many were sold with large ammunition-feeding devices to increase their capacity. 

The defendants sold 11 guns between September 2024 and January 2025 on 10 separate occasions, according to court documents and statements made on the record in court, prosecutors said. The migrants are accused of sending information about the weapons over WhatsApp, including photos. The buyer would then come to the meet-up point and provide cash in exchange for the guns.

Stefano Pachon, 21, a high-ranking member of the Tren de Aragua gang, sold multiple loaded guns, prosecutors said, and some had illegal ammunition loading devices and one was a ghost gun.

He allegedly sold the weapons while out on a bench warrant and already had four arrests to his name. 

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Pachon, prosecutors said, acted as the ringleader and negotiated the purchase and price for most of the weapons. The sales occurred in multiple locations in the Bronx and at a gas station in East Harlem at East 125th Street and Second Avenue. He wore a red hoody in court. 

Some of the guns that were confiscated by law enforcement. (Manhattan DA’ Office)

VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS LINKED TO VIOLENT APARTMENT TAKEOVER ARRESTED IN NEW YORK CITY

His attorney told the court that he is an asylum seeker from Venezuela and falls under certain protection, is of modest means and had a disability from a previous stabbing. His attorney noted that President Biden recently signed an order that provides protections for Venezuelans. He came to the U.S. in December 2023. 

Judge Althea Drysdale responded by saying that just because the migrants come from Venezuela doesn’t make them asylum seekers.

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Darwin Figuera, 34, and Yorman Serrano, 31, were also charged in the 31-count indictment. A fourth co-conspirator has also been charged in the indictment.

Serrano, dressed in a green fuzzy hoody with a “polo” teddy bear logo, has a previous conviction in Queens and was arrested in Connecticut for possessing a shoplifting device. Figuera, dressed in a cream sweater with teddy bear designs, came to the U.S. in October, while Serrano had been here since December 2023.  

All three spoke via an interpreter.

Yorman Serrano has a previous conviction in Queens and was arrested in Connecticut for possessing a shoplifting device. (Fox News)

The case stemmed in part from an investigation into Victor Parra, the ringleader of a cellphone snatching ring. Earlier this week, Parra pleaded guilty to two counts of grand larceny and is expected to be sentenced to two to six years in state prison. The evidence in that investigation contributed to the investigation of this gun trafficking conspiracy.

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“These charges are a stark reminder that we must always remain vigilant against high-powered, illegal firearms and the dangerous gangs that would use them to hurt New York City families and communities,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.

“The NYPD will always unflinchingly perform the heroic work required to prevent these weapons from getting into criminals’ hands, so that everyone in our city can live free from fear and violence.”

Darwin Figuera, 34, pictured in court. (Fox News)

Bragg said gun violence is trending downward in Manhattan, but there is a lot more work to do.

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“Selling illegal weapons in Manhattan is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Bragg said in a statement. “The scourge of gun violence takes a devastating toll on our communities, and I have met with far too many heartbroken families who have lost a loved one because of illegal firearms.”

The judge ordered Pachon to be held without bail, while Figuera was held on $50,000 cash bail and Serrano had his bail set at $50,000.

The guns confiscated included; four 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistols, each equipped with ammunition magazines; a Polymer80 9-millimeter semi-automatic ghost gun that had a magazine with the capacity for 34 rounds; a Smith & Wesson .38 special caliber revolver; a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun; a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber fully-automatic pistol that had a magazine with a capacity of 15 rounds; an American Tactical 5.56×45 millimeter semi-automatic rifle equipped with ammunition magazines; a Radical 5.56×45 millimeter semi-automatic pistol with ammunition magazines; and a Ruger semi-automatic pistol.

Fox News’ Kirill Clark contributed to this report. 

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Vermont

How UVM hockey teams fared Jan. 9-10 — Schedule, scores, results

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How UVM hockey teams fared Jan. 9-10 — Schedule, scores, results


UVM welcomes Adrian Dubois as new men’s soccer coach

Adrian Dubois answers questions from the media following his introductory press conference on Monday, Dec. 22.

Conference play is in full swing to both Vermont basketball and hockey teams. Vermont basketball and women’s basketball both have a bye on Saturday, Jan. 10, meaning only the hockey teams are in action.

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How did those Catamounts men’s and women’s hockey teams fare this weekend? For schedule, scores and stats from all games, read on below:

FRIDAY, JAN. 9

Women’s hockey

Vermont 4, Merrimack 1

V: Oona Havana 2G. Kaylee Lewis 1G. Rose-Marie Brochu 1G. Julia Mesplede 2A. Stella Retrum 1A. Lauren O’Hara 1A. Brooke George 1A. Ashley Kokavec 1A. Zoe Cliche 19 saves.

M: Emma Pfeffer 1G. Stina Sandberg 1A. Avery Anderson 1A. Lauren Lyons 39 saves.

Note: The women’s hockey team has won three straight games securing its largest win streak of the season.

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Men’s hockey

Vermont 3, Northeastern 2

V: Sebastian Tornqvist 1G, 2A. Jens Richards 1G. Massimo Lombardi 1G. Colin Kessler 1A. Aiden Wright 1A. Jack Malinski 1A. Cedrick Guindon 1A. Aiden Wright 20 saves.

N: Joe Connor 1G. Amine Hajibi 1G. Jack Henry 1A. Tyler Fukakusa 1A. Dylan Hryckowian 1A. Dylan Finlay 1A. Lawton Zacher 21 saves.

Note: The men’s hockey team has won two straight games for the first time since winning its first two games of the season (Oct. 4-10).

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SATURDAY, JAN. 10

Women’s hockey

Vermont at Merrimack, 2 p.m.

Men’s hockey

Northeastern at Vermont, 7 p.m.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.





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Boston, MA

Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term

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Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term


The Boston City Council is setting out on a new two-year term with a new council president at the helm.

City Councilor Liz Breadon, who represents District 9, won the gavel on a 7-6 contested vote, cobbling together her candidacy just hours before the council was set to vote.

“An opportunity presented itself and I took it,” Breadon said. “We’re in a very critical time, given politics, and I really feel that in this moment, we need to set steady leadership, and really to bring the council together.”

The process apparently including backroom conversations and late-night meetings as City Councilors Gabriella Coletta Zapata and Brian Worrell both pushed to become the next council president.

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Breadon spoke on why support waned for her two colleagues.

“I think they had support that was moving,” said Breadon. “It was moving back and forward, it hadn’t solidified solidly in one place. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the moment.”

Political commentator Sue O’Connell talks about the last-minute maneuvering before the upset vote and what it says about Mayor Michelle Wu’s influence.

Some speculated that Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration was lobbying for a compromise candidate after Coletta Zapata dropped out of the race. Breadon disputes the mayor’s involvement.

“I would say not,” said Breadon. “I wasn’t in conversation with the mayor about any of this.”

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Beyond the election, Breadon took a look ahead to how she will lead the body. Controversy has been known to crop up at City Hall, most recently when former District 7 Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges tied to a kickback scheme involving taxpayer dollars.

Breadon said it’s critical to stay calm and allow the facts to come out in those situations.

“I feel that it’s very important to be very deliberative in how we handle these things and not to sort of shoot from the hip and have a knee-jerk reaction to what’s happening,” said Breadon.

Tune in Sunday at 9:30 am for our extended @Issue Sitdown with Breadon, when we dig deeper into how her candidacy came together, the priorities she’ll pursue in the role and which colleagues she’ll place in key council positions.

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Pittsburg, PA

O’Connor vows Pittsburgh won’t cooperate with ICE

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O’Connor vows Pittsburgh won’t cooperate with ICE


Days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor reaffirmed that he will not cooperate with ICE.

Former Mayor Ed Gainey had taken the same position.

“My stance never changed,” O’Connor told TribLive on Friday. “We’re not going to cooperate.”

O’Connor said the same thing on the campaign trail, promising his administration would not partner with ICE.

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“My priority is to turn the city around and help it grow,” O’Connor said. “For us, it’s got to be focusing on public safety in the city of Pittsburgh.”

President Donald Trump has sent a surge of federal officers into Minneapolis, where tensions have escalated sharply.

O’Connor said he had spoken this week with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who heads the Democratic Mayors Association. The group has condemned ICE’s actions in the wake of Wednesday’s fatal encounter in Minneapolis, where an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Nicole Macklin Good, a U.S. citizen described as a poet and mother.

“Mayors are on the ground every day working to keep our communities safe,” the association said in a statement Thursday. “If Trump were serious about public safety, he would work with our cities, not against them. If he were serious, he would stop spreading propaganda and lies, and end the fear, the force, and the federal overreach.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has come out strongly against the Trump administration and ICE, penning an op-ed piece for the New York Times with the headline, “I’m the Mayor of Minneapolis. Trump Is Lying to You.”

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said an ICE officer shot Good in self-defense. Noem described the incident as “domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers and claimed Good tried to “run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”

The circumstances of the incident are in dispute.

In December, ICE agents were involved in a scuffle in Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood as they arrested a Latino man.

According to neighbors, two unmarked vehicles sandwiched a white Tacoma in the 400 block of Norton Street, broke the driver’s side window, pulled a man from the vehicle and got into a physical altercation. Pepper spray was deployed and seemed to get in the eyes of both the man being detained and at least one immigration agent.

At least some of the officers on the scene in that incident belong to ICE.

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They targeted the man, Darwin Alexander Davila-Perez, a Nicaraguan national, for claiming to be a U.S. citizen while trying to buy a gun, according to court papers.



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