NEW YORK CITY, NY – A 28-year-old illegal alien is facing a litany of charges after officials say the suspect bit the tip of an NYPD sergeant’s finger off after being arrested for DUI charges connected to a multi-vehicle crash earlier in September.
Lenni Rodriguez-Cruz is facing ten charges, including assault with intent to disfigure/dismember, after a DUI arrest on September 20th took a wild turn after Rodriguez-Cruz was brought to a holding cell.
According to authorities, Rodriguez-Cruz was allegedly operating a Nissan Altima harboring expired tags slightly before midnight on September 20th, with said plate number reportedly being registered to a completely separate vehicle. Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, but Rodriguez-Cruz allegedly sped off, leading to a pursuit where authorities say caused “civilians to jump out of the way” to avoid being struck by Rodriguez-Cruz’s vehicle.
The suspect reportedly began veering into oncoming traffic during the pursuit, eventually colliding with four vehicles, including a police vehicle located near Grand Central Parkway and Parsons Boulevard. Police were able to take Rodriguez-Cruz into custody following the collision and transported the suspect to the 103rd Precinct for processing under the initial charges of suspected DUI and the ensuing pursuit/crash.
But that’s when things took a dark turn, according to authorities, as the allegedly intoxicated suspect began acting “disorderly” and reportedly bit the tip of a police sergeant’s finger off after a skirmish broke out between the suspect and sergeant.
While the original charges of DUI, DWI, reckless endangerment, fleeing, reckless driving, driving an unregistered vehicle, and refusal of roadside breath test aren’t exactly a small dose of charges – the addition of assault with intent to cause disfigurement, assaulting a police officer, and injuring an on-duty officer brings the felony stack to the decade-plus range upon conviction.
Rodriguez-Cruz pleaded not guilty to the above charges during an appearance on September 22nd and is currently being held on $250,000 bail.
Interestingly enough, the New York City incident isn’t the first occurrence of an illegal alien suspect being accused of biting off the fingertip of a law enforcement officer.
Back in March of 2019, ironically in New York City, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was attempting to take into custody a Dominican national who’d overstayed on their visa. The suspect, Cristopher Santos Felix, was initially placed in cuffs at his Bronx home, but had asked officers to remove them briefly so that he could put on an article of clothing.
The officers in question apparently obliged Felix’s request. Court documents note that the suspect became aggressive after being uncuffed, eventually leading to a scuffle where an ICE officer saw a portion of his ring finger chomped off by Felix.
Felix would eventually be convicted of the assault, being handed down a nearly four-year sentence in 2021 followed by three years of probation.
Lenni Rodriguez-Cruz is facing ten charges, including assault with intent to disfigure/dismember, after a DUI arrest on September 20th took a wild turn after Rodriguez-Cruz was brought to a holding cell.
According to authorities, Rodriguez-Cruz was allegedly operating a Nissan Altima harboring expired tags slightly before midnight on September 20th, with said plate number reportedly being registered to a completely separate vehicle. Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, but Rodriguez-Cruz allegedly sped off, leading to a pursuit where authorities say caused “civilians to jump out of the way” to avoid being struck by Rodriguez-Cruz’s vehicle.
The suspect reportedly began veering into oncoming traffic during the pursuit, eventually colliding with four vehicles, including a police vehicle located near Grand Central Parkway and Parsons Boulevard. Police were able to take Rodriguez-Cruz into custody following the collision and transported the suspect to the 103rd Precinct for processing under the initial charges of suspected DUI and the ensuing pursuit/crash.
But that’s when things took a dark turn, according to authorities, as the allegedly intoxicated suspect began acting “disorderly” and reportedly bit the tip of a police sergeant’s finger off after a skirmish broke out between the suspect and sergeant.
While the original charges of DUI, DWI, reckless endangerment, fleeing, reckless driving, driving an unregistered vehicle, and refusal of roadside breath test aren’t exactly a small dose of charges – the addition of assault with intent to cause disfigurement, assaulting a police officer, and injuring an on-duty officer brings the felony stack to the decade-plus range upon conviction.
Rodriguez-Cruz pleaded not guilty to the above charges during an appearance on September 22nd and is currently being held on $250,000 bail.
Interestingly enough, the New York City incident isn’t the first occurrence of an illegal alien suspect being accused of biting off the fingertip of a law enforcement officer.
Back in March of 2019, ironically in New York City, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was attempting to take into custody a Dominican national who’d overstayed on their visa. The suspect, Cristopher Santos Felix, was initially placed in cuffs at his Bronx home, but had asked officers to remove them briefly so that he could put on an article of clothing.
The officers in question apparently obliged Felix’s request. Court documents note that the suspect became aggressive after being uncuffed, eventually leading to a scuffle where an ICE officer saw a portion of his ring finger chomped off by Felix.
Felix would eventually be convicted of the assault, being handed down a nearly four-year sentence in 2021 followed by three years of probation.
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Comments
2023-09-26T15:11-0500 | Comment by: James
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