Venezuelan migrant Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, pleaded guilty on Tuesday for shooting two police officers during a struggle in East Elmhurst last year. Photo courtesy of the NYPD
May 21, 2025 By Bill Parry
A homeless Venezuelan migrant admitted he shot two NYPD officers from the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights who attempted to stop him for riding a motorcycle the wrong way on a one-way street in East Elmhurst nearly a year ago.
Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 20, pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court Tuesday to attempted murder for shooting Police Officer Richard Yarusso in the lower chest area and assault for shooting Police Officer Christopher Abreu in the leg when the defendant resisted arrest.
According to the charges, at around 1:40 a.m. on June 3, 2024, Yarusso and Abreu were on patrol with NYPD Sergeant Nicholas Condos in an unmarked police vehicle while wearing an NYPD uniform when they saw Mata operating an unregistered motorcycle the wrong way down Ditmars Avenue near 90th Street. Mata was not wearing a helmet as he weaved the bike onto the sidewalk with pedestrians present.
Yarusso and Condos got out of the unmarked police vehicle and attempted to approach Mata, at which point he left the motorcycle and ran from the scene. Yarusso began a foot pursuit, while Abreu followed Mata in the unmarked vehicle. Condos pursued Mata on the motorcycle he had ditched. Abreu caught up to Mata and attempted to place him under arrest, but he resisted by twisting his body, flailing his arms, and reaching inside a bag he was wearing across his chest. Yarruso attempted to help Abreu place Mata in handcuffs, and the two officers struggled with the defendant on the ground.
During the struggle, Mata removed a firearm from his cross-body bag and shot Yarusso in the lower chest at point-blank range. The officer’s bullet-resistant vest stopped the bullet. Mata also shot Abreu and struck him in the upper right thigh area.
Police Officers Christopher Abreu and Richard Yarusso were treated at Elmhurst Hospital and released hours after the shooting. Photo courtesy of the NYPD
Abreu returned fire, shooting Mata in the foot and ankle area, at which point the defendant let go
of the firearm. Condos arrived and placed the defendant in handcuffs.
EMS rushed Yarusso and Abreu to Elmhurst Hospital, where they were treated for their injuries and released later that morning. EMS transported Mata to New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Flushing for treatment of his wounds.
Police recovered a loaded Hi-Point .380 caliber handgun at the crime scene as well as two deformed fired bullets, nine bullet fragments, three discharged .380-caliber shell casings, and four 9 mm discharged shell casings.
Mata admitted he used this .380 handgun to shoot at two cops out of the 115th Precinct in East Elmhurst last year. Photo courtesy of the NYPD
“The defendant shot two New York City police officers at close range after they attempted to stop him from driving erratically on an unregistered motorcycle,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
“Once the officers caught up to the defendant, he fired at them. Thankfully, one officer’s bullet-resistant vest saved his life while the other officer was able to recover from his injuries.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder set sentencing for June 10. Mata is expected to be sentenced to 28 years in prison: 25 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, followed by five years of post-release supervision, and three years on the assault charge, followed by three years of post-release supervision. The sentences are to be served consecutively.
“With today’s plea, the defendant will now be held responsible for his actions,” Katz said.
Mata, who was homeless on the morning of the shooting, entered the U.S. illegally in July 2023 via the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas, when it was a hotspot for record-high migrant crossings, and subsequently moved to Queens, police said. He resided at The Landing Family Shelter, housed in the former Marriott Courtyard Motel on Ditmars Boulevard near LaGuardia Airport, just blocks from the crime scene, before he was evicted in May 2024, a month before the shooting.
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