Three Illegal migrants charged with fatal stabbing of fellow migrant at NYC Shelter
Three illegal immigrants were arraigned in a New York City court on Tuesday charged in relation to the fatal stabbing of another illegal migrant at the Randalls Island migrant shelter on Jan. 6, 2023. (Credit: FNTV)
An illegal migrant who is accused of stabbing a fellow migrant to death inside a New York City shelter earlier this month pleaded with security guards to let him "finish the job," during the violent knife attack, prosecutors said at his arraignment on Tuesday, according to the New York Post.
The cold-blooded comments were made during the attack where Moises Coronado, 27, allegedly plunged a 5-inch blade into 24-year-old Dafren Canizalez at the sprawling Randall’s Island migrant shelter after the pair got into an argument in the cafeteria, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The argument was sparked when Coronado allegedly made comments about victim Canizalez’s girlfriend and a fight ensued, the Post reports.
Moises Coronado, 27, allegedly plunged a 5-inch blade into 24-year-old Dafren Canizalez at the sprawling Randall’s Island migrant shelter after the pair got into an argument in the cafeteria. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)
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According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Coronado left and then returned with two accomplices and the trio chased Canizalez around the cafeteria wielding knives.
The trio caught, surrounded and punched Canizalez in the face and started to chase him out of the cafeteria until he was eventually blocked by a closed door.
As the men surrounded him again, Coronado allegedly stabbed Canizalez multiple times, including in the hand and the fatal stab wound to his chest. The men continued chasing him until he eventually collapsed.
Canizalez was taken to a hospital but died from his wounds. The New York Daily News reports that Canizalez was a father of three.
At Tuesday’s arraignment, prosecutors revealed the callous comments Venezuela native Coronado made during the deadly Jan. 6 attack.
Coronado "made statements indicating that he was not a punk and that because the deceased had punched him earlier he needed to get revenge and he even asked the security guards to let him go so that he could go and finish the job," prosecutor Pierre Griffith told a New York Jury, according to the Post.
Coronado was charged with murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree and gang assault in the first degree.
The Randall's Island migrant shelter, where 27-year-old father of three Dafren Canizalez was fatally stabbed on Jan. 6. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The Post reports that he pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge and is facing 15 years to life in prison for the slaying. He is being held without bail.
Griffith said that Coronado entered the country through the Texas southern border and was detained in November before making his way to New York City.
Meanwhile, Coronado’s alleged accomplices, Ferney Horta and Anthony Navas, have both been charged with manslaughter in the first degree and gang assault in the first degree.
Horta, originally from Colombia, who also entered the country via Texas, entered the courtroom on crutches after he suffered a fall while being held in jail, his attorney said. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
Navas, of Ecuador, also pleaded not guilty.
Randall's Island was turned into a taxpayer-funded migrant tent city in August 2023. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)
All three illegal immigrants are due back in court on March 26.
"As alleged, Dafren Canizalez was brutally killed in an attack by a group, who trapped and chased him until he collapsed," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
"Everyone who comes into our city deserves to be safe, and we will continue to hold those who commit serious acts of violence accountable."
