The illegal migrant killed by an off-duty cop during a moped robbery spree Sunday had a deportation order against him when busted for theft in May — but was still dumped back on the street.
Lahoine Soto, 30, had been nabbed illegally crossing the US border into Texas in June 2024 but was cut loose pending an immigration hearing in January under Biden administration policies, according to sources and records.
He then blew off his immigration court hearing and was hit with a deportation order by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said sources and documents.
The order was still hanging over his head when he was picked up on petty larceny charges in Manhattan on May 15 — yet he was still released without bail despite the federal warrant against him.
He then continued committing crimes, police said.
On Sunday, he and an accomplice robbed four people at gunpoint before turning their sights on the wrong target — an off-duty NYPD cop.
When Soto whipped out his weapon, the officer was quicker to the draw and shot down the troublesome native of the Dominican Republic.
Sources said Soto had snuck into the country and was picked up by border patrol in El Paso last year. He was released with an immigration hearing date after claiming he was afraid for his safety if he returned to the Dominican Republic.
Under Biden administration policies, migrants caught entering the country illegally could be freed into the US if they asked for asylum — and Soto was given a hearing date in January in Manhattan.
The marauding migrant, who moved into an apartment in The Bronx, had a deportation order slapped against him when he failed to show up for the hearing.
He was then taken into custody for a Manhattan crime May 15 and charged with petty larceny, possession of stolen property and possession of burglar tools.
According to a criminal complaint in the case, cops nabbed Soto using a belt and glue to try to steal letters from a US Postal Service mailbox.
Because the theft charges are not bail eligible under the Empire State’s lax criminal justice reforms, Soto had to be released in the criminal case — and remained on the loose despite even making follow-up court appearances July 2 and July 25, online records reveal.
It is not clear if New York’s sanctuary status, which limits local law-enforcement cooperation with federal authorities on immigration matters, played a role in the failure to have the feds take Soto into custody.
With another court appearance scheduled for next month, Soto and his unnamed cohort unleashed their ultimately fatal robbery spree Sunday.
Soto was pronounced dead, while police are still hunting for his partner in crime.
Read the full article here
