31°
Two defendants from Queens -- Boneek Alexander Quintero-Baeza, 32, and Levy Frank Maury Bruggman, 23 -- were in custody awaiting the outcome of court proceedings to have them brought to Bergen County to face charges, authorities said Thursday.
A third – identified as accused getaway driver Alexandra Ivonne Pizarro-Blanche 23 – was released.
Police were still searching for the alleged ringleader on Thursday.
He was identified as Bryan Leandro Herrera-Maldonado, a Chilean national, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
“We’re going to hunt him down and bring him into justice,” Ryder told reporters during a news conference Thursday in Mineola. “He’s on the run, and we’re in cooperation with the NYPD and police in Connecticut and New Jersey to track him down.”
The trio was arrested at a home on Sixth Avenue in College Point, Queens, on Tuesday.
They had “just come back from a burglary they had committed in New Jersey,” Ryder said.
Authorities recovered jewelry, electronics, handbags and clothing taken during burglaries in upscale communities in both states, he said.
Crew members also had various forms of identification with aliases, he added.
The crew is connected to another Chilean group of accused burglars arrested by Nassau County authorities last month – all of whom fled the country after being released on bail, Ryder said.
“They fly in on 90-day visas,” the police commissioner said. “Many times, they will return to Chile with the proceeds [from the burglaries]”
Anyone who sees or know where to find Herrera-Maldonado is asked to contact local police or the Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Highland Lakes-Vernon and receive free news updates.
