Migrant Wanted by ICE, Released Under Controversial NY Bail Reform, Arrested Again on Rape Charge

Prosecutors say an illegal immigrant who was wanted by ICE and released under New York’s controversial bail reform laws has been arrested again, this time for the alleged brutal rape of a woman.

Cruz Garcia, 43, was indicted for first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and second-degree strangulation by a Delaware County grand jury on Aug. 10.

In first announcing the indictment Tuesday, Delaware County Acting District Attorney Shawn Smith said Garcia is accused of strangling the victim until the point that she nearly lost consciousness on July 25. Garcia is accused of unlawfully restraining the victim “under circumstances that exposed her to serious physical injury.”

Prosecutors say he forcibly engaged in sexual intercourse without the victim’s consent “by means of forcible compulsion,” and the victim was “transported to the hospital emergency room because of the injuries she sustained.”

The alleged attack unfolded about a month and a half after Garcia had been released in a case where he had been charged with separate, unrelated felony charges from Orange County. Garcia was arraigned on June 12 in Orange County Court on charges including felony DWI and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation.

“Unfortunately, due to New York State’s bail reform laws the defendant was automatically released from custody on those felony charges,” Smith wrote. “This defendant lacks any legal status in the United States, and he was wanted by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE], due to an unrelated criminal conviction, prior to the Orange County indictment or this indictment.”

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“This case clearly highlights the dual failures of Albany and Washington,” Republican state Sen. Peter Oberacker added in a statement. “The absence of any practical immigration policy coupled with the proven debacle known as bail reform is endangering public life on a daily basis. {snip}”

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