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Homeless NYC migrant who ‘swiped’ historic FDNY boat freed without bail — immediately strikes again: sources
“We thought this would just be a one-day news story. [We] wouldn’t imagine he would get out on two grand larcenies, but here we are,” said Eric Fischer, with the company that owns the third boat.…
nypost.com
Homeless NYC migrant who ‘swiped’ historic FDNY boat freed without bail — immediately strikes again: sources
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Published April 12, 2024, 4:41 p.m. ET
Boat Boy is back at it — and they can’t even ship him home.
The homeless migrant who was busted joyriding on a historic FDNY fireboat and then swiping a sailboat for another leisurely ride was released without bail Friday — only to immediately try to climb aboard an even bigger ship in Manhattan, according to sources, who said immigration officials’ hands are tied.
“Welcome to New York,” said Eric Fischer, vice president of Friday’s ship, the Frying Pan.
Juan Hernandez, 22, of Ecuador was set free by Judge Marva Brown on Friday morning after allegedly taking the former FDNY-owned vessel John J. Harvey on a wild journey down the Hudson River early Thursday before swiping a sailboat in Chelsea for another jaunt.
5 Juan Hernandez is seen on CCTV aboard the FDNY fireboat, in the early hours of Thursday. Obtained by NY Post
By noon Friday, the alleged boat bandit was back on the street and trying to get onboard the Frying Pan — a 133-foot lightship that boasts a popular floating restaurant at Pier 66, according to workers and owners.
A bar worker on the ship said he confronted Hernandez after spotting him trying to slip through a gate onto the barge.
The migrant was wearing khakis and a black hoodie with an orange logo on the back at the time.
“I was like, ‘What the f–k are you doing here?’ ” said the worker, identified only as Mario.
“I told him to go away. He started talking s–t, and he ran away.”
Angela Krevey, co-owner of Pier 66 Maritime, said the wannabe first mate claimed he left his passport on the bright red vessel, which is permanently docked at Pier 66.
Observers said Hernandez may have mistaken the Frying Pan for the fire boat because of where it was and its color.
5 Alleged Manhattan ship thief Juan Hernandez, 22, is now accused of trying to climb aboard yet another boat Friday. Obtained by the NY Post
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“The seafaring thief was back,” she said.
“He was very belligerent. … He demanded to come on to the barge.
“We called the police. The police said they couldn’t do anything because he’s a free man,” she said — describing the repeated boat-centric incidents as baffling.
“There is no passport on board,” she added.
5 The accused boat thief allegedly took the John J. Harvey fireboat for a joyride Thursday. Robert Miller
5 Hernandez jumped onto a J/80 sailboat owned by the Hudson River Community Sailing School. Robert Miller
It wasn’t immediately clear if Hernandez would be charged in connection to the incident Friday.
“If he was charged with two counts of grand larceny, why was he released from jail?” Krevey said of Hernandez’s illicit maritime excursions Thursday. “I don’t get this city, I really don’t.
“I want my city back,” she said.
Krevey said she’s worried that Hernandez is off his rocker and might try to set sail yet again.
“If he thinks his passport is on board he might come back again, and that’s what we’re afraid of. He could come back with more people,” she said.
5 A worker said Hernandez tried to slip through a gate at Pier 66 in Chelsea on Friday. Robert Miller
“I don’t know if he’s mentally stable.”
“I would like a restraining order. But why do we have to pay for a lawyer to get a restraining order on a criminal thief?” she said. “It’s very disconcerting that he was let out.”
Fischer of the Frying Pan said workers recognized Hernandez from media reports about his nautical bust Thursday.
“We thought this would just be a one-day news story. [We] wouldn’t imagine he would get out on two grand larcenies, but here we are,” Fischer said.
He was referencing the state’s soft-on-crime bail reform laws, which in this case mandated that the judge release Hernandez without bail because his crimes were considered non-violent.
Hernandez is believed to have entered the US illegally through El Paso, Texas, in 2022.
After being nabbed, he allegedly skipped out on a hearing in immigration court in Boston at some point and ended up in the Big Apple, law enforcement sources have said.
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He was charged Thursday with two counts of grand larceny after floating on the 130-foot fireboat, then getting stuck and jumping onto a J/80 sailboat owned by the Hudson River Community Sailing School.
Since he was sprung without bail, he ended up on the street again.
New York judges have a “non-cooperation agreement” with federal immigration authorities at ICE as per state regulations, meaning the jurists can’t hold migrants such as Hernandez for federal authorities even after such arrests, sources said.