A Bronx gangbanger who has racked up nine arrests this year on a bevy of wild charges is free on the streets of New York City after being repeatedly sprung without bail.
Alleged Latin Kings member Emmanuel Santiago, 32, keeps ending up in cuffs even as he faces seven open cases in the Bronx on charges ranging from intent to sell dangerous drugs, grand larceny of cars, possession of weapons, and allegations of domestic violence, according to law enforcement sources.
The brazen gangster was most recently arrested a December heist in the Bronx where he broke into a cop car and made off with an arsenal of police gear including gun belts and ammunition, bullet proof vests, a riot shield and baton, mace, handcuffs, and a radio, the law enforcement sources said.
Despite the laundry list of alleged offenses — including at least 31 domestic incidents ranging from alleged assaults to death threats against women — Santiago has repeatedly been let go on non-monetary release, according to the law enforcement sources.
Even after he was re-arrested on bench warrants for ditching required court appearances, Santiago continued to add to his criminal resume.
He is just one of numerous NYC recidivists who have been allowed to walk free without bail — only to soon land in cuffs again once out — since state lawmakers in Albany passed sweeping criminal justice reforms in 2019.
The law eliminated cash bail for most non-felonies and misdemeanors, and barred judges from considering the risk of allowing somebody back on the street when setting bail — instead, bail can now only be used as a means of making sure defendants return to court.
“If this guy is who Albany had in mind when they conceived of this bail reform — then I see it’s going exactly as planned… the march forward for the sake of ideology,” an exasperated law enforcement source told The Post.
“Albany and reformers think simply not jailing criminals is championing criminal justice reform — but it’s not — especially if criminals keep committing the same crimes without any corrective action.”
Recent crime figures out of the Bronx show a surge year to date.
In the East Bronx, rape has soared by 175%, felony assault by 18%, grand larceny by 70%, and major crimes overall by 27%, according to NYPD figures.
Other numbers suggest that repeat offenders are to blame for chunks of crime — last year, the NYPD reported that a mere 327 people were to blame for 30% of the city’s shoplifting crimes in 2022.
That breaks down to recidivists being arrested a collective 6,600 times — more than 20 times each.
Also in 2022, NYPD numbers showed that just 10 criminals had racked up 500 arrests since bail reform took effect in 2020.
“And that’s the real problem with recidivism — it is not the sheer number of arrests, but the persistent thought or mindset of disregard for a functioning society,” the law enforcement source said.
“The reforms apparently don’t treat a known member of the Latin Kings different than a jaywalker.”
The Post has reached out to the Bronx District Attorney’s office and the state Office of Court Administration.
