Pair of undocumented immigrants arrested in Massachusetts for stabbing NYPD cop during chain snatch

Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News on Oct 7, 2026

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A pair of undocumented immigrants with criminal histories wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD cop during a botched chain snatch robbery in the Bronx have been arrested, police said Wednesday.

D’Angelo Carabello, 25, and Sneider Mejia, 24, were nabbed overnight in Lynn, Mass., by NYPD detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force, with help from Boston authorities, NYPD officials said.

The wounded cop, Det. Jose Mercedes of the 44th Precinct, was released from Jacobi Medical Center Monday and is recovering from seven stab wounds.

He was stabbed last Friday afternoon, confronted from behind as he was getting something from the trunk of his Mustang parked on E. 208th St. near Steuben Ave. in Norwood.

The crooks tried to steal Mercedes’ gold chain and stabbed him seven times. He gave chase as the duo fled empty-handed but they got away.

The suspects were publicly identified by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch Tuesday.

The feds then noted that the suspects are undocumented immigrants from the Dominican Republic with arrest records in the United States.

“Despite prior arrests in New York, sanctuary politicians refused to cooperate with ICE and released them,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. “This horrific crime could have been prevented if it weren’t for Biden’s open borders and the ‘America Last’ policies of New York sanctuary politicians.”

Mejia was ordered deported by a federal judge in May 2025 and was arrested in October for weapons possession.

The Department of Homeland Security chided the NYPD for not holding Mejia, but police, under the city’s sanctuary laws, do not cooperate with federal authories on civil enforcement matters.

Caballaro, meanwhile, was already due in court in the Bronx on Thursday for two open cases. He is accused of gun posession in one case and of menacing a man with a knife in the other

He and Mejia now have to appear in court in Massachusetts before they are taken back to the Bronx.

The NYPD previously released surveillance footage of the two suspects and asked the public’s help locating them. Caraballo, police said, wasn’t wearing a shirt at the time of the attack.

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