New York: Tren de Aragua member sentenced to 28 years in prison for shooting two police officers
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder sentenced Bernardo Raul Castro Mata to 25 years in prison for attempted murder, followed by five years of probation, and to three years in prison for assault, followed by three years of probation. The sentences will be served consecutively.

Tren de Aragua Member Arrested
Queens (New York) District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that undocumented immigrant Bernardo Raul Castro Mata was sentenced to 28 years in prison for shooting police officer Richard Yarusso in the chest and officer Christopher Abreu in the leg.
On June 3, 2024, officers attempted to stop the defendant for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in East Elmhurst while riding an unregistered motorcycle without a helmet. A pursuit followed, which ended in a shootout that injured both officers. They were treated at a local hospital and subsequently released.
“It is simply a miracle that Officers Richard Yarusso and Christopher Abreu are alive today. These brave officers attempted to stop this defendant after he was observed riding his motorcycle the wrong way on Ditmars Boulevard and driving on the sidewalk with pedestrians present. As the officers attempted to arrest Mata, he produced a gun and shot both of them at extremely close range – one in the chest and the other in the leg," Katz said.
Authorities noted that Mata, 20, pleaded guilty on May 20 to attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault. He also admitted from his hospital bed after the arrest that he was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang and that two fellow gang members recruited him to carry out robberies.
The conviction
In addition, the New York Post reported that Mata crossed illegally into the United States in 2023, but the case against him was dismissed two weeks before the shooting because he had no known criminal ties at the time.