Metro

Pedro Hernandez, darling of bail reformers, nabbed on attempted-murder warrant

An accused career criminal and onetime darling of bail-reform advocates was nabbed by cops on an attempted-murder warrant Monday after he failed to surrender as planned, police said.

Pedro Hernandez, 22, was apprehended by the NYPD in The Bronx around 3:30 p.m. and taken to the Midtown North Precinct in Manhattan, where he was held until he was hauled off to court in handcuffs at 4:40 p.m.

The suspect wore a blue suit and white shirt, looking stoic as detectives led him to a black unmarked police car and drove off to his pending arraignment.

He did not respond to questions from reporters. 

Hernandez was tracked down by cops and arrested when plans to have him turn himself in after nearly a month on the lam fell through, sources said.

He was charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Hernandez was being sought on an attempted-murder charge stemming from an Aug. 28 shooting outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral during a dispute over a three-card monte game.

Hernandez, who has a lengthy criminal record and three open gun cases in the Bronx, was once championed by criminal-justice advocates who fought to get him released after he served one year at Rikers Island on a 2015 robbery case. Hernandez had refused to cop a plea deal in the case and was held behind bars till a liberal advocacy group sprang him on $100,000 bail.

The group, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, was among advocates calling for lower or no bails in many cases, saying the system discriminated against minorities and the poor.

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Pedro Hernandez being walked from the Midtown North Precinct after his arrest.
Pedro Hernandez being walked from the Midtown North Precinct after his arrest on September 26, 2022.Kevin C. Downs for The New York Post
Hernandez was arrested in the Bronx earlier in the afternoon.
Hernandez was arrested in the Bronx earlier in the afternoon.Paul Martinka
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Hernandez was charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.
Hernandez was charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.Paul Martinka
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Bronx prosecutors ultimately ended up dropping the robbery case against Hernandez when a key witness got cold feet — only to see the suspect in handcuffs for other alleged crimes again and again.

He has sued the city, claiming the NYPD is targeting him unfairly.

In his latest alleged crime, Hernandez is accused of trying his hand at three-card monte — a notoriously rigged urban sidewalk hustle — around 5:45 p.m. Aug. 28 and lost cash and a gold chain.

Pedro Hernandez, 22, was nabbed by cops. DCPI
Hernandez was wanted for an August 28, 2022, shooting near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Daniel William McKnight

Irate over his loss, he followed the two men pulling off the hustle to their red Mercedes-Benz and fired a single shot into the vehicle — then chased the car in his own black BMW, cops said.

The chase ended up at the parking garage of the Palace Hotel, where one of the three-card monte operators dropped his cash and jewelry on the ground before running off.

Hernandez then allegedly grabbed his items off the ground and left the scene — and cops had been looking for him since.

Hernandez, who has a lengthy criminal record and three open gun cases in the Bronx, was once championed by criminal-justice advocates. Paul Martinka
NYPD investigating a car involved in a chase and shooting in Midtown. Daniel William McKnight

According to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, Hernandez was out on bail on two of his three cases currently pending in that borough.

The cases include a felony third-degree robbery charge dating to April 7, 2019, in which prosecutors asked that Hernandez be held on $100,000 bail — but a judge set the amount at $15,000 cash or a $25,000 bond. 

He posted the set lower amount and is currently awaiting trial on that case. 

On June 8, 2019, Hernandez was then charged with reckless driving, a misdemeanor, with bail set at $750 cash or $1,500 bond. He ponied up bail and was freed.

He was then hit with a reckless-endanger misdemeanor Aug. 8, 2019, and released without bail in that case, although a judge could have set an amount. 

All three of the Bronx cases predated the state’s controversial bail-reform laws, which did not take full effect until January 2020. Under the new law, none of the cases would have allowed bail to be set against Hernandez.