Man in U.S. illegally sentenced for assault on NYPD officers
Yohenry Brito in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday. Credit: Ed Quinn
A man in the country illegally who allegedly sparked a violent assault on a pair of NYPD officers in Times Square last year was sentenced Wednesday in Manhattan to 18 months in jail for his role in the melee and an unrelated grand larceny charge.
Yohenry Brito, 24, of Venezuela, was among a group of about seven men, all migrants, who were captured on surveillance video in the Jan. 27, 2024 fight, which apparently started as police tried to break up a rowdy crowd. After an exchange of words between the group and the two officers, the men, led by Brito, allegedly pummeled and kicked the officers as they tried to fight back.
Footage from the assault and subsequent fight went viral on social media and sparked outrage from federal, state and local officials, as well as law enforcement.
The assault on the officers also came amid an increase in violence against police in the city, part of an overall spike in assaults in early 2024, according to the NYPD at the time.
"This sentence delivers the message we need to hear in every single courtroom across this city — if you attack a New York City police officer, you will spend time in jail," said Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry in a statement Wednesday. "This individual and his criminal associates should never be allowed to return to our city streets. They must serve their sentences here and then be deported."
Brito, his legs manacled and hands wrapped in orange gloves, had nothing to say when Criminal Court Judge Melissa T. Lewis handed down the sentence of 1 year for the second-degree assault charge, as well as 8 months for the grand larceny charge. Lewis also gave him three sentences of 10 days for separate charges of disorderly conduct, to run concurrent with the 18 months.
Brito attempted to enter the United States in May 2023 at a Texas border crossing where he was apprehended and then released, officials said. After his arrest for the January 2024 assault on the officers, Brito made a reported $15,000 bail, posted by a Brooklyn minister. A few months later, Brito was arrested on the grand larceny charge stemming from a shoplifting allegation.
At the time of Brito's second grand larceny arrest, a Manhattan criminal court judge reportedly considered revoking his earlier bail but he remained free. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to the assault and larceny charges and was being housed on Rikers Island.
Because of his immigration status, it is believed that federal officials would put an immigration hold on him while he serves his state sentence and then deport him. Given credit for time already spent in custody, Brito could finish his jail term in about a year. His defense attorney, Mark Jankowitz, didn’t return telephone calls for comment.
Officials with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case, referred questions about whether an immigration hold had been placed on Brito to the city Department of Correction, which didn’t respond to a request about any pending federal action.
However, an entry on the DOC website for Brito showed he had an immigration warrant pending.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
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