A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Venezuelan migrant to one year in prison for kicking an NYPD officer during a brawl in Times Square in January. Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, did not speak at his sentencing after agreeing in July to plead guilty to second-degree assault for the January 27 melee between police and a group of migrants outside a shelter on West 42nd Street.
Police Benevolent Association chief Patrick Hendry ripped the sentence, saying Gomez-Izquiel deserved to spend much more time behind bars. He told the New York Post, "364 days is not enough. This individual should be behind bars a lot longer. If you attack a New York City police officer, you should stay behind bars."
Gomez-Izquiel had been in the United States for just about five months before the assault. He is the second suspect to be sentenced after Kelvin Servita Arocha admitted guilt in June and got sentenced to time served. Court records show five other defendants involved in the brawl — Ulises Bohorquez, Yohenry Brito, Wilson Juarez, Yorman Reveron, and Edgarlis Vegas — have cases pending and are set to appear in court Wednesday.
Brito was rearrested in August on a separate indictment accusing him of stealing nearly $2,000 in merchandise from a couple of Manhattan Sephora stores. He had been out on bail at the time.