Metro

Four migrants bused to NYC arrested for shoplifting $12K from Macy’s

By
Social Links for Bernadette Hogan and
Social Links for Craig McCarthy
Published Jan. 23, 2023
Updated Jan. 24, 2023, 6:53 p.m. ET

Four migrants bused into New York City from Texas were busted for snatching thousands of dollars in merchandise from a Nassau County mall, officials said Monday.

Wrallan Cabezas Meza, 19, Miguel Angel Rojas, 21, Rafael Rojas, 27, and Jose Garcia Escobar, 30, are accused of driving from the Big Apple to Garden City and stealing $12,489 in goods from Macy’s Roosevelt Field earlier this month, according to county police.

Cops caught the crew shortly after the Jan. 9 heist in Hampstead when Meza was pulled over for allegedly failing to use a turn signal in a 2006 BMW with bogus plates, a criminal complaint in the case states.

The suspects later told a Spanish-speaking Nassau County detective that they came to New York City on a bus from the Lone Star State, Detective Lt. Richard Lebrun said.

It was unclear when they were brought up north, but Meza crossed the US-Mexico border on July 4, 2022, and the others during September last year, according to Nassau County cops.

Four migrants arrested on grand larceny charges
The four are accused of stealing more than $12,000 in goods. Nassau County Police Department

Miguel and Rafael Rojas have been living at the Watson Hotel on West 57th Street in Manhattan, according to police.

Police didn’t say exactly what was stolen from the department store.

TThe four suspects appeared in court on Jan. 10. Rafael Rojas and Escobar were released without bail. Miguel Rojas and Meza had bail set at $1,000 and $1,500, respectively, and both were released after securing bonds.

During a press conference Monday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he agrees with Mayor Eric Adams “that we have a crisis at the border and it has now migrated across the United States to the New York City metropolitan area.”

“But I want to make it clear: Here in Nassau County, our police department is going to be vigilant in making sure that anybody who commits a crime is tracked down, caught and arrested,” Blakeman said.

Thousands of migrants have been bused into New York City from the border after coming to the US for asylum.

The influx has forced the city to open five Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers and use hotel rooms to house the people. The city also even tried to tap cruise ships as temporary housing.

Adams has called on federal and state lawmakers to help foot the bill for efforts to house migrants in New York. More than 39,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple since the spring.

The mayor has said the crisis is costing the city — which already had a strained shelter system — millions of dollars.