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A Venezuelan migrant who admitted to attacking a cop during the Times Square melee was nowhere to be found at her sentencing Monday — after a Manhattan judge sprung her free from jail to allow her to “bond” with her two-month-old baby, a court heard.
Edgarlis Vegas, 21, was set to be sentenced to a city year — a 364-day term — in Manhattan Supreme Court after pleading guilty to kicking a cop during the Jan. 27, 2024 scuffle, but her attorney, Eric Bernstein, said she wasn’t going to show up for the court appearance.
“My indication today is she’s not coming today,” attorney Eric Bernstein said without providing a reason for her no-show.
Vegas, who gradually appeared with a baby bump during several proceedings since her arrest last March, was initially being held on $25,000 bail — but was freed by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Laura Ward when she took a plea deal on Oct. 1 in order for her to have more time to “bond with her baby,” her attorney said.
She had her baby sometime in October after she was released following her guilty plea.
Bernstein said that Vegas had about 60 days left on her sentence before she skipped out on her appearance. She had previously been making all of her court appearances prior to her sentencing.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Ann Thompson, who was filling in for Ward, issued a bench warrant for Vegas’ arrest.
Vegas, a native of Venezuela who was in New York City for two to three months before the melee, was captured on surveillance video striking an officer with the back of her foot, prosecutors have said.
Shortly after her arrest, she allegedly admitted to being at the scene of the fracas — but initially claimed she did nothing and was “only watching the incident unfold.”
She later changed her story when she was confronted with footage of the incident, claiming that she was kicking a different member in the group and may have “accidentally” kicked one of the officers, according to prosecutors.
Vegas’ disappearance act comes after other suspects involved in the case have been sentenced — with at least one already being picked up by federal immigrant agents.
Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, who pleaded guilty to his role in the assault in July, served only three-quarters of a one-year sentence when ICE agents were waiting for him when he was released on Oct. 10
Critics of the city-year jail sentence have said that the sentence is used as a protective measure aimed to “shield immigrants from deportation” because inmates can get released early and dodge deportation.
Two migrants — Ulises Bohorquez and Yorman Reveron – are awaiting sentence after pleading guilty for their roles in the melee.
Yohenry Brito, the migrant bailed out by a church after the attack, is still weighing his options — after he was rearrested for shoplifting while out on bail.
NYC Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry criticized the judge’s decision to cut Vegas loose.
“They should’ve been held. They should’ve done their time, and they should be deported,” Hendry said outside the courtroom. “This was a violent, vicious assault and this person needs to be held accountable.”
Vegas attorney declined to comment on the case following the hearing.
