A Democratic judge has allegedly allowed a migrant with multiple prior arrests, including attempted rape, to slip out a back door of a New York City courthouse to evade ICE agents.
Gerardo Miguel Mora, 45, whose country of origin is unknown, was actively being sought by federal authorities due to an outstanding criminal arrest warrant, according to court records obtained by the New York Post.
On Thursday, he was arrested on charges of shoplifting and possession of stolen property after allegedly swiping $130 worth of merchandise from an H&M display case in Midtown.
Mora was dragged back into Manhattan's criminal court just hours later on the minor charge, where Judge Sheridan Jack-Browne - who won a special election last year in Brooklyn - was presiding.
Rather than handing Mora over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), she allegedly allowed him to quietly exit through a back door, potentially giving him an opportunity to escape agents waiting outside, sources reportedly told the Post.
'They refused to hand him over,' a law enforcement source told the outlet. 'They let him out the back to avoid ICE.'
Agents chased Mora through the streets before apprehending him and placing him in federal custody, where the Department of Justice (DOJ) now has control over the next steps.
Mora has been on law enforcement's radar since 2011, when he was arrested for allegedly attempting to rape and strangle a 21-year-old woman, according to the outlet.
According to police sources, he allegedly followed the young woman home in midtown Manhattan, choked her, and attempted to strip her clothes off.
The attack ended after a bystander, who heard the woman's terrified cries, swiftly intervened and held Mora down until authorities arrived to arrest him, law enforcement sources told the Post.
He then seemingly disappeared from law enforcement's radar for the next 12 years and was believed to have been deported after the violent incident.
After more than a decade, Mora was found back in the US following his arrest for the use of a falsified identification, according to the outlet.
Last month, he was once again taken into custody on the Upper West Side for alleged possession of crack cocaine - a case that remains pending in court, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Post.
Federal authorities had been searching for Mora due to a criminal arrest warrant under a section of US code concerning the 'reentry of removed aliens,' sources said.
The warrant was issued under a law that criminalizes reentering the country after being deported - a felony charge.
On Thursday, Mora was in court for his shoplifting case - a charge that doesn't allow bail - when the alleged escape took place.
Sources told the Post that Judge Jack-Browne then allowed Mora to leave the courtroom in a way that could have let him go undetected by agents, despite being aware of the federal arrest warrant for him.
The source said that 'everything was sent over' to the courtroom by ICE, and the warrant - allegedly in the judge's possession - was placed in a folder on the bench for her to review.
Once agents realized Mora had left the courtroom, they pursued him on foot and eventually caught up with him, placing him into federal custody, the sources said.
Now the DOJ holds the reins over whether Mora will be prosecuted, deported, or both.
The ordeal enraged federal agents, and because New York is a sanctuary city, local authorities do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
In some recent cases, federal authorities have pursued judges they believe obstructed the agency’s operations, though this is said to be a rare occurrence.
