On January 6, a disgusting attack against an elderly 92-year-old woman named Maria Fuentas was carried out, resulting in the woman’s death.
Since then, Reeaz Khan, an illegal immigrant who once had a deportation order but was let go under a “sanctuary policy” in New York, has been charged for her murder, along with first-degree attempted rape and first-degree sexual abuse on the old woman.
Now, a top NYPD union leader is calling upon NY Mayor Bill deBlasio to own up to the consequences of his policies,
“The mayor can say what he wants to say -- he owns this. He should step up and say these are his policies, he owns it.”
Do you agree?
Should deBlasio take responsibility for this heinous, sick crime at the hands of an illegal immigrant who was allowed to run free on his streets under his own policies?
Fox News has more to say:
A top New York Police Department union official on Friday called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to “own” the consequences of the city’s sanctuary policies -- while insisting officers want to be allowed to work with federal immigration enforcement -- after an illegal immigrant who was freed in November is alleged to have sexually assaulted and murdered a 92-year-old woman.
“The mayor can say what he wants to say -- he owns this,” Sergeants Benevolent Association Vice President Vincent Vallelong told reporters. “He should step up and say these are his policies, he owns it.”
The remarks came at a press conference led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Matthew Albence in New York, days after the deadly consequences of the city’s policy again made headlines due to the murder this month of 92-year-old Maria Fuertes.
Reeaz Khan, an illegal Guyanese immigrant, is accused of attacking Fuertes as she walked home on Jan. 6. Fuertes was reportedly found at 2 a.m. in 32-degree weather and near death on a sidewalk with her clothes pulled above her waist. She was taken to a hospital, where she died from injuries that included a broken spine, according to The New York Post. The Post cited law enforcement sources who said she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
ICE revealed this week that it had issued a detainer -- a request that ICE be alerted of an illegal immigrant’s release from custody so that they can be transferred into ICE custody and go through deportation procedures -- in November for Khan.
But the NYPD followed the city’s sanctuary policy -- which limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities and means that most detainers are ignored -- and released him without informing ICE.
“A phone call, one simple phone call and Maria Fuertes could be alive today,” a visibly furious Albence told reporters.
The horrific crime has fired up a fresh fight between de Blasio and the Trump administration, which says that the murder is yet another example of a policy that puts law-abiding Americans in danger. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said the case showed that New Yorkers are “facing the deadly consequences of the sanctuary policies.”
The New York Post also gave more details into the charges Khan is now facing:
An illegal immigrant has been indicted in the “heinous” Jan. 6 killing and sexual assault of a 92-year-old “cat lady” in Queens, prosecutors announced.
Reeaz Khan, 21, was hit with seven charges in the Richmond Hill attack on Maria Fuentes, including second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, first-degree attempted rape, first-degree sexual abuse and tampering with physical evidence.
“The defendant is accused of pouncing on the 92-year-old woman from behind, throwing her to the ground and then sexually assaulting her before he ran from the scene,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“The victim was discovered hours later barely conscious, incoherent and naked from the waist down,” Katz said. “The defendant has been apprehended and will be prosecuted for his alleged heinous actions.”
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