Four migrants were mugged in two separate incidents near their respective city-run shelters over the weekend – with one of the suspects busted believed to be a member of a vicious Mexican-American street gang, police and sources said Monday.
Masael Aguilar, 31 – a suspected Sureño-13 gang member – was busted along with Steven Cuatlati, 32, for allegedly robbing a 31-year-old asylum seeker outside of the Department of Homeless Services drop-in center on West 14th Street near Irving Place, cops and police sources said.
The victim was standing outside the shelter – where he has been staying – at around 2:40 p.m. Saturday when the brutes approached him.
One of them pushed him to the ground and kicked him multiple times, while the other pressed a sharp object against his neck and snarled, “I know you have money,” according to the sources.
Aguilar and Cuatlati allegedly grabbed the man’s wallet and ran off. They were both arrested nearby and charged with a single count of robbery, police said.
Both of them had also been staying at the shelter, though it wasn’t clear if they were migrants, too, according to sources.
Aguilar and Cuatlati each have long rap sheets dating back to 2010.
Aguilar has 16 prior arrests, five of which are active and 11 that are sealed, according to the sources. Cuatlati, who is not a documented gang member, has been arrested six times, with half of those cases still open, the sources said.
In the second incident on Sunday, three migrants were mugged by a crew of six suspects at Sunken Garden Loop and Hell Gate Circle on Randall’s Island, cops said.
The mob – all migrants living at a nearby shelter at 600 East 125th Street – pummeled the trio, and struck them with a metal chain and a sharp object at around 10:15 a.m. Sunday, according to the sources.
They also grabbed two cellphones and $100 from the victims, two women ages 39 and 21 and a 22-year-old man, cops and sources said.
The older woman and the man were taken to Harlem Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.
Responding cops rounded up and arrested the six suspects: Jose Reyes, 24; Eduardo Perez, 25; Yisnaldi Perez, also 25; Frank Cardozo-Sarmiento, 26; Rubio Jose, 31, and Gregorio Perezcova, 33, authorities said.
All of them were charged with robbery and gang assault, cops said.
