Migrant grins as he's jailed for a year for beating cop in Times Square

A migrant convicted of beating a cop in Times Square grinned in court as a judge sentenced him to 12 months behind bars.

Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel agreed to a plea deal for his involvement in a violent assault on two police officers on January 27.

Six associates were also arrested in relation to the crime, all of whom were migrants.

The crime was committed against a backdrop of increased migrant incarceration rates, with criminal justice insiders said to be furious by New York sanctuary city laws which prevent officers from working with ICE on cases involving illegal immigrants. 

Initially, many of the suspects evaded custody. Some were re-arrested on different crimes and held behind bars amid a swell of outrage over the relaxed bail conditions that cut them loose.  

A migrant convicted of beating a cop in Times Square grinned in court as a judge sentenced him to 12 months behind bars

Wearing a headset and beige prison garb, Gomez-Izquiel was pictured smirking during the hearing

On Tuesday, Gomez-Izquiel appeared in a Manhattan court, where a judge ruled he must serve 365 days in custody. Wearing a headset and beige prison garb, Gomez-Izquiel was pictured smirking during the hearing. 

In late July, the 19-year-old agreed to the deal, which would see him plead guilty to second-degree assault in exchange for spending one year on the notorious Rikers Island.

One of his co-accused has also taken a plea deal, while five other cases involving Ulises Bohorquez, Yohenry Brito, Edgarlis Vegas, Wilson Juarez and Yorman Reveron are pending.

Gomez-Izquiel had arrived in the United States just five months before he took part in this assault.

On Tuesday, Gomez-Izquiel appeared in a Manhattan court, where a judge ruled he must serve 365 days in custody

Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry previously told The Post the sentence 'should absolutely be longer.'

'The important test will come once his sentence is up.

'He needs to be deported immediately upon release, without setting another foot on our city streets.' 

The 19-year-old agreed to the deal, which would see him plead guilty to second-degree assault in exchange for spending one year on the notorious Rikers Island

NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell advocates for sanctuary city laws to be amended to give police the freedom to collaborate with ICE if a migrant is convicted of a violent crime.

As it stands, sanctury city policies are in place to encourage migrants to come forward and report crimes if they are a victim or witness, without fear of being deported.

Chell said: 'Most of them are here for the American dream, but there's a small portion that are not.

'We don't care what your status is – you commit a violent crime, there's gotta be consequences for it.

'We're just looking for local government to maybe make that adjustment to those laws to really– at the end of the day, this all falls under the banner of keeping people safe.' 

Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel agreed to a plea deal for his involvement in a violent assault on two police officers on January 27. Six associates were also arrested in relation to the crime , all of whom were migrants

It comes amid recent reports that migrant crime is surging in the US. According to The Post, up to 75 per cent of arrests in Midtown Manhattan for crimes like assault, robbery and domestic violence are migrants.

The publication quoted an anonymous court official who said: 'Come on Mondays! Almost every case is a migrant.'

'I would say about 75% of the arrests in Midtown Manhattan are migrants, mostly for robberies, assaults, domestic incidents and selling counterfeit items,' a Midtown officer said.

The anonymous source said 'you can't be 100% sure [they're migrants] unless you arrest them in a shelter or they're dumb enough to give you a shelter address.'

Gomez-Izquiel was arrested out the front of a migrant shelter on West 42nd Street. The melee kicked off when the group were asked to move along from the area.

Police said he 'grabbed one officer' and 'kicked' another officer.